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Low-Energy Laser Etching May Replace Fruit Labels
MikeChino writes "How many times have you bit into a piece of fruit only to find that you're also chomping on a sticker label? The small sticky labels have long been the bane of waste-conscious fruit and vegetable eaters, but that might all change thanks to new technology that uses a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam to etch information directly onto produce. No more peeling those annoying labels! So far the technology is being used on a number of fruits and vegetables in New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific Rim countries, and it's currently going through the final stages of review by the FDA. Once the technology is approved in the US, researchers from the University of Florida and the USDA Agricultural Research Service hope that it will be used in Florida's massive grapefruit industry."
I can't wait til they're required by law to give us all the nutritional information of every piece of fruit, down to the calorie count and the chemical breakdown. Perhaps government will put missing persons reports on them, or government mandated reminders of what it means to be a good citizen! So many useful applications!
http://www.beanleafpress.com
What chemical change is caused in the skin to form the pattern? How deep does it go? The skin is a protective barrier, and if it's compromised by the process, this could have a negative effect on shelf-life.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
"How many times have you bit into a piece of fruit only to find that you're also chomping on a sticker label?"
Erm, never? Because I always wash my fruits (as in apples, pears) first before eating them?
This is an answer in search of a problem: To be honest, I'd rather have a blemish-free apple, than one with carvings.
When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
This is particularly good news for me, because I can only eat foods that have been etched with a laser. Goodbye scurvy!
"This Apple brought to you by Apple"
An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
http://m.assetbar.com/achewood/uuacmn9vC This is why.
For a technology site, most of the comments here are surprisingly anti-technology.
A new graphics card comes out? Commentors will gripe that old school games with shitty graphics are better anyway.
A new CPU comes out? Same thing : commentors will complain that extra CPU power is just more cycles for crummy, inefficient programming to squander with useless eye candy features.
A laser that eliminates that annoying plastic label on fruit and the FCKING ARTICLE says that it's safe? Commentors say that THEY won't benefit because THEY always peel and wash their fruit, and they're afraid that the lasering will make fruit decay sooner (without reading the article that says the lasering does not appreciably damage the fruit's skin)
Thank god we've finally gotten to the bottom of that whole fruit label thing. Maybe now we can get around to tackling cancer.
Name...That...Autocomplete!
. . . I want to know if it tastes good.
Fruit should be lasered according to how it tastes: "Good", "Great!", "Sweaty Tennis Socks", etc.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Once this is in use, I don't imagine it will be long before your fruit is covered with more ads than a NASCAR racing suit. On the up-side, the opportunities for a bit of creative pranking are just about limitless.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Sounds good as long as it doesn't compromise the foods shelf life in any way. The skin on fruits and vegetables is a barrier against pathogens. If the skin is broken or marked the fruit will spoil much faster.
Wow, do you just totally not understand laser etching or are you acting ignorant on purpose?
Laser etching uses thermal energy (heat) to burn the surface, causing the colour to change. There are no inks, acids, or any other additives. It's no different from sticking it under a broiler and waiting, but with a laser you pack the energy into a small burst so you don't cook the whole fruit, just the surface.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Our fruits do not need labels.
The labels on fruit in the UK supermarkets are there so the cashier knows what you've chosen. The labels on the apples I eat say "Granny Smith 4139", the cashier types in "4139" before weighing the fruit.
They are annoying -- especially if they leave a residue, as I don't normally have a chance to wash an apple before I eat it -- so perhaps this is an improvement, so long as it doesn't affect the taste.
...'cos if you don't then it's not really a problem, is it?
No sig today...
At my local grocery store, they sell three different types of bananas: "standard" (49c/lb), organic (79c/lb) and fair trade (89c/lb). Without some form of labelling, the cashier cannot distinguish between the types.
Of course, the self-checkout lanes make this entire argument almost moot...
Unless of course that taste is like chicken.
Here's a cookie... *psst* it's MAGIC
The labels aren't advertisements. they have a 4 or 5 digit code on them which is used to identify what kind of fruit it is specifically. The prices for honeycrisp apples is different from fugi apples which is different from gala apples (the price difference is pretty large between different varieties). The clerks at the store aren't knowledgeable enough to tell the different of the 10 or so varieties of each kind of fruit sold to tell the difference. With the abundance found in wealthy nations comes a way to organize that abundance, and keeping things organized is what those labels are all about.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
As I bit into the nectarine, it had a crisp juiciness that I found pleasurable... until I realized that it wasn't a nectarine at all, but a human head.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Have you ever tried to purchase a pomegranate at a grocery store? I've had clerks try to ring them up as apples - that is if they don't stare in consternation at this vegetable (as in "not animal") monstrosity that has come across their conveyor.
Mon chien, il n'a pas du nez. Comment scent-il? TrÃs mauvais!
I love flan, but I just can't eat it and drive at the same time. Look! I've got flan all over me! Introducing: Pocket Flan!
I'd also like to see where the fruit is from, possibly even identify the grower. There are three basic reasons:
1. I prefer to buy stuff grown close to where I live. My grocery store will generally include the country of origin in the signage, but I really don't trust that they get that right.
2. If there is some type of contamination problem, the CDC could more quickly track down the source and scope of the problem.
3. I might discover that some growers produce better or worse food than others. The information could help me spend my food dollars more effectively.
-ec
Or they Just don't care and ring it up as what ever apple they know the code for. Same with things like mustard greens and kale, it usually ends up getting rung up as green or red leaf lettuce. I suspect there are some who can tell all the fruit and veggies by sight, and some who check the tag, and then some who just pick a code they know that the stuff kinda looks like.
can't they just take something for the pain?
Did she have any news about Ferris?
...as I don't normally have a chance to wash an apple before I eat it...
As someone who has worked in produce (college job, not now) I have to say that I am appalled whenever I hear this. The residue from the sticker is the least of your worries, there could be all kinds of other residue on that apple that you don't know about (not that though, that's only cucumbers). At least try to rinse them off, if you can't give them a decent wash.
You should take a look at the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI). We are just getting into the first steps of implementing this where I work (a regional produce distributor). Much of the traceability is already there, BUT every company has their own system. Recalls are a major pain - this will completely solve the problems. PTI provides a universal barcode on every box that traces the produce in the box to the farm level and which specific day it was picked.
http://www.producetraceability.org/