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Low-Energy Laser Etching May Replace Fruit Labels

Posted by samzenpus on from the tattooed-fruit dept.

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."

52 of 475 comments (clear)

  1. Lecture Fruit! by happy_place · · Score: 5, Funny

    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
    1. Re:Lecture Fruit! by Scutter · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, they'll just etch "This unit not labeled for individual sale" on each one and make you buy them by the bag instead.

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    2. Re:Lecture Fruit! by think_nix · · Score: 3, Insightful

      and next thing will be company xyz etching commercials , or marketing crap into it.

    3. Re:Lecture Fruit! by GaryOlson · · Score: 4, Funny
      Thus creating a gray market for fruit.

      Hey buddy, wanna buy a hit of label free grapefruit? Highest quality buzz of Vitamin C anywhere!

      --
      Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
    4. Re:Lecture Fruit! by jo42 · · Score: 4, Funny

      fertilizing with human manure illegal

      Shouldn't be. Human manure, especially that from politicians and lawyers, is some of the finest crap on the planet.

    5. Re:Lecture Fruit! by TheLink · · Score: 5, Informative

      > Just remember: fruit is healthy. It never hurts to eat it. Why have a label if this is true anyway?

      Because it isn't true.

      There are very many fruits in the world that are eaten by humans. They can be very different in their effects.

      Many fruits contain lots of sugar. That's not good for diabetics.
      Some fruits have very high potassium levels - this is normally good for people with high blood pressure, but bad for people with very bad kidney problems.
      There's a fruit called Ackee that can give you hypoglycemia or even kill you if not ripe or not prepared correctly. But apparently it's popular with Jamaicans.
      Grapefruit interacts with many drugs - it can make many drugs way more effective than expected.
      Starfruit (carambola) has significant amounts of oxalic acid which can give kidney patients problems.

      And there are still very many fruits which while might be commonly eaten have not had much research done on them on their health effects and nutritional values.

      Lastly, I wonder how the laser etching would look like on a whole durian or a rambutan ;).

      --
    6. Re:Lecture Fruit! by Anonymusing · · Score: 4, Funny

      Even better, you will soon be able to custom-engrave your fruit. Popular choices:

      • Marry me!
      • Eat me!
      • I promise there are no razor blades in this apple!

      etc.

      --
      Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
    7. Re:Lecture Fruit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "This Fruit Intentionally Left Blank"

    8. Re:Lecture Fruit! by digitalhermit · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm Jamaican and enjoy ackee :) The fruit is poisonous if eaten at the wrong time. You need to wait until it opens naturally on the tree before harvesting. Once prepared, it looks a like scrambled eggs and tastes somewhat acrid. Traditionally it's eaten with salt fish or bacon, biscuits similar to buttermilk biscuits, or with a vegetable called "breadfruit".

      Grapefruit and starfruit are also very popular in the Caribbean. I never got the hang of durian fruit :D.

    9. Re:Lecture Fruit! by Eponymous+Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You know, this is one of the things about organic fruit and vegetables that bugs me. My grocer tends to have the organic fruits and veggies pre-packaged rather than lose. I might only want 3 apples, but guess what, they only come in 6 packs. Want a few organic bananas, too bad. The organic ones have a sticky plastic strip around them so you can't just break off the amount you want.

      I'm pretty selective about what I buy and I only want to buy what I need. And I definitely don't need a bunch of extra packaging. In the end, I often end up buying non-organic food just because I end up wasting less that way.

    10. Re:Lecture Fruit! by deathcow · · Score: 4, Informative

      >> Grapefruit interacts with many drugs - it can make many drugs way more effective than expected.

      > Please elaborate. Please!

      My daughter had a liver transplant as a infant. She takes a single immune suppressant drug now called "Prograf" or known as Tacrolimus. The only warning on it is "Don't eat grapefruit while taking this." It makes the immune suppressing power much stronger.

  2. What does this do, chemically? by bcmm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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 /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
    Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
    1. Re:What does this do, chemically? by John+Hasler · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The process must be approved by the FDA. You can be sure they will ask all those questions and some you haven't thought of.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    2. Re:What does this do, chemically? by jimicus · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The process must be approved by the FDA. You can be sure they will ask all those questions and some you haven't thought of.

      I'm always very leery of that sort of assurance because I've heard very similar things from my own MP (I'm in the UK) and IME it invariably means "I have so much blind faith in the system that I'm not even going to take your query seriously enough to forward it on to the relevant people".

      And it later transpires that the relevant people had not thought about it...

    3. Re:What does this do, chemically? by TimHunter · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hmmm...You're right, we can't trust the FDA. We should rely on the geniuses of the Slashdot community instead. The ones who can read the summary and immediately come up with 10 or a dozen weaknesses that the professionals who've been thinking about the problems for years have somehow overlooked.

      We should set up a vote. You know, take the top 10 highest-modded questions or something.

    4. Re:What does this do, chemically? by clone53421 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm waiting for the mandatory notice that the laser-charred fruit contains substances known in the state of California to cause cancer.

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    5. Re:What does this do, chemically? by Atraxen · · Score: 5, Informative

      A CO2 laser has a wavelength of 10600 nm (i.e. pretty deep into the infrared). I'm not seeing any specific reactions or chemical absorbers in the literature on a quick check, nor would I expect to - a single photon of 10600 nm light contains far too little energy to break any bonds. Instead, when the photon is absorbed it makes the molecule vibrate a little, and the kinetic energy is transferred to the surrounding water (or other) molecules as heat energy. This is where the misconception stems from that IR = heat; heat results when the photon of IR light is absorbed, but a photon is a photon is a photon... Basically, the color change is going to be a burn pattern, so there's nothing to fear from it over and above any concern you'd have for cooked fruits (e.g. pie filling).

      --
      Be careful of your thoughts; they could become words at any minute...
    6. Re:What does this do, chemically? by jcochran · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And did you not actually read the article? That issue was addressed within it.

      In recent tests, the research team found that laser-labeled Ruby Red grapefruits showed no increase in decay or water loss compared to their sticker-labeled counterparts. The grapefruit also remained free of pathogens-meaning the laser-etching doesn't provide a new entry point for germs.

      But then again, this is slashdot so, who am I to expect people to actually read the article prior to commenting on it?

    7. Re:What does this do, chemically? by Abstrackt · · Score: 4, Funny

      Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    8. Re:What does this do, chemically? by moosesocks · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This might be anecdotal, but I used to work for a big pharma company. We (or at least all of the people I encountered there) were terrified of the FDA.

      The FDA were reputed to be extremely thorough, and generally uncorruptable (the FDA is a sprawling bureaucracy, which though inefficient, seems to prevent any widespread corruption).

      The media might not have picked up on it, but the American pharma industry is hurting pretty badly right now, as many of the expected "blockbuster drugs" from the past few years didn't make it through the FDA's thorough approval process, while many of the existing big-profit drugs are about to lose their patents (which, in the US only takes about 7-12 years from the date of first sale).

      In America, you can create Mickey Mouse, and profit from your invention for a period of time double that of the average human lifespan. However, if you cure cancer, you've only got about a decade to reap the profits.

      I'm not going to apologize for all of the pharmaceutical industry's actions. However, it's very important to view behavior in the context of the regulatory environment in which they must exist.

      --
      -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
    9. Re:What does this do, chemically? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I live in New Jersey - I couldn't care less if it causes cancer in the state of California.

  3. An answer in search for a problem? by anomnomnomymous · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "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?
    1. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by FlyingBishop · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I compost all of my fruit, and this will be great, as fruit like bananas and oranges will no longer generate any waste I can't compost.

    2. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why?
      TFA shows that it works on delicate fruit like tomatoes too. In terms of heal and sanitary concerns the laser is probably still better.

      1. A sticker when placed will be a nice breading gown for bacteria. Then the sticker is often pealed off after the fruit is washed.

      2. Who knows what chemicals are left behind on the sticker.

      3. When pealing off the sticker people use their fingernail. Even when they wash their hands the fingernails tend to have the most bacteria on them.

      4. Stickers get toss into the garbage. Or worse if you are eating on the run just littered.

      5. Pealing off stickers on some fruit can tare off the skin of the fruit.

      6. Stickers that fall off fruit could mean be misplaced, wrongly priced at checkout.

      I for one welcome or laser etched fruit overlords.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by maxume · · Score: 4, Funny

      Seriously? You are worried about a couple of grams of stickers that come on a few hundred or thousand grams of fruit? You could probably eat bananas for a year and still fit the stickers inside your nose.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    4. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by sakdoctor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do you expect me to just take your word for that?

      I'll report back here in one year.

    5. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by Anonymusing · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "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?

      Even stupider, they're talking about laser etching on citrus fruit. You peel those fruits before you eat them (well, most people do). There are no stickers inside the fruit.

      --
      Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
    6. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by Kozz · · Score: 4, Funny

      1. A sticker when placed will be a nice breading gown for bacteria. Then the sticker is often pealed off after the fruit is washed.

      My eyes, my eyes! Spelling! Punctuation! Please, tell me that English is not your first language... otherwise I hope you're still enrolled in English 101.

      But on the bright side, you win Google Golf for "breading gown".

      --
      I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
    7. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by deemen · · Score: 4, Informative

      2. Who knows what chemicals are left behind on the sticker.

      4. Stickers get toss into the garbage. Or worse if you are eating on the run just littered.

      There are no chemicals. The stickers are made of starch, are printed on with edible dyes and are stuck on the fruit with a thin layer of glucose. They are in fact perfectly edible and biodegradable. It's quite possible laser etching (by heating the fruit) will produce more dangerous compounds. Frankly, this isn't even a problem, people just like the lasers because they look cool.

    8. Re:An answer in search for a problem? by Atraxen · · Score: 3, Informative

      Last time I checked (in my lab yesterday afternoon) most lasers don't take much energy to run at all. My Nd:YAG pulsed laser is pretty beefy (Class IV, back of the envelope calc puts the intensity at 100 MW/pulse) runs on 110/120/220 V wall power, 50/60 Hz, and only pulls 10 amps. That's my big laser... then there's my two laser pointers that are run by AAA's or the little watch batteries, and have powered times in the hours range. Looking on the Coherent website (first one I came to) I see CO2 lasers with a "marking" application that use 12A power average (from a DC power supply). So, the power requirements are certainly no worse than that of the labeling machine that has to apply the stickers, and given the higher speeds possible for laser printing vs mechanical printing the throughput might make them far more efficient.

      --
      Be careful of your thoughts; they could become words at any minute...
  4. Boon! by aerthling · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is particularly good news for me, because I can only eat foods that have been etched with a laser. Goodbye scurvy!

  5. Corporate advertising. by Dan541 · · Score: 4, Funny

    "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?"
    1. Re:Corporate advertising. by Darth_brooks · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's nothing. If Apple starts making laser etched fruit trendy, soon they'll have a whole produce division! Couple that with genetic modification and one day I'll be able to compare Apple's Oranges to Orange Apples and.....oh no, I've gone cross-eyed....

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    2. Re:Corporate advertising. by LtGordon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Apple is currently working on technology to inscribe a EULA on the inside of the peel.

  6. Dude by ShooterNeo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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)

    1. Re:Dude by zippthorne · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I gotta tell ya, "beach" is funnier. The mental image of bloated slashdotters flailing their useless arms about, stuck on the border of land and sea, loudly complaining about fruit labeling improvements that have literally zero downsides is difficult to suppress.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    2. Re:Dude by amplt1337 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Arrogant tech nerds (myself included) are often suspicious of change. There's something just so satisfying about being able to say "Nuh uh, you're wrong!" or otherwise indulge in world-weary cynicism.

      Besides, I like to think of Slashdot as being populated almost entirely by Andy Rooney.

      --
      Freedom isn't free; its price is the well-being of others.
  7. Finally. by NoPantsJim · · Score: 4, Funny

    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!
    1. Re:Finally. by maxume · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're the one not wearing any pants.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  8. I don't want to know where it comes from . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 3, Funny

    . . . 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!
  9. And you think it will just be for labeling? by hyades1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.
  10. Re:Wrong problem by xaxa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  11. Re:Wrong problem by cwrinn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Unless of course that taste is like chicken.

    --
    Here's a cookie... *psst* it's MAGIC
  12. Re:Wrong problem by OrangeTide · · Score: 4, Informative

    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
  13. Deep Thoughts by operagost · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.
  14. Re:Wrong problem by Cormacus · · Score: 4, Informative

    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!
  15. Envy by LtGordon · · Score: 3, Funny

    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!

  16. Re:Wrong problem by Eponymous+Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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

  17. Re:Wrong problem by The_K4 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  18. If the pharma industry is really hurting by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    can't they just take something for the pain?

  19. Re:Wrong problem by nabsltd · · Score: 3, Funny

    Did she have any news about Ferris?

  20. Re:Wrong problem by MiniMike · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...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.