SMART NEWS

These People Want to Replace Fruit Stickers With Laser Etched Tattoos

One company is trying to solve the sticker problem by actually laser etching logos onto fruit

Contributor

June 21, 2013

Tired of trying to wash that weird sticky residue of your fruit that the stickers leave behind? Well, one company is trying to solve the sticker problem by actually laser etching logos onto fruit. Here’s what the etching process looks like:

And here’s how it holds up after 46 days.

The company says that using laser marking will reduce not just scrubbing time, but the waste of resources as well. Their website explains:

Present market practice applies adhesive laminated sticker on approximately 70% of pieces in a basket. The production of adhesive stickers requires natural resources (wood for paper, energy, water) as well as chemical substances (glue & ink production).

Current production of stickers includes five steps, including applying the stickers onto the foods. The LASERMARK technology involves just one. Plus, no more shifty label swapping in the supermarket. All thanks to lasers.

Food manufacturers have toyed with eliminating the stickers before, trying out these so-called “food tattoos” instead. The USDA even experimented with laser etching in 2009, but their process was a bit more complicated. This new technology hopes to make it easier and cheaper for companies to ditch the stickers and embrace the laser.