The title doesn't refer to a superhero lemon or crime-fighting apple, but whats set to become you're selection at the grocery store next year (or already is, if you're in Australia or New Zealand) and represents a new, more eco-friendly step forward.
In our fight against global warming, one of the things I typically beg people to do is show businesses how going green can help them, even save them money. With that, let me show you something you're familiar with:
You see those little tags? They're important. They label country of origin (a legal requirement) and other tracking information so we can trace things back if any sort of disease or pest problem comes about from this fruit. But theres a few problems. Those represent a MASSIVE amount of waste produced that hardly ever gets recycled, let alone the energy going in to make the stickers and the glue. It's insecure in that its easy to swap stickers or even just plain lose them. If you're in a hurry like I am, you tend to forget about them and eat the buggers.
Well then, whats the answer you ask?
I present to you, Low-Energy Carbon Laser Etching
This technology involves 'burning' (its not quite the same process, but a useful enough metaphor) the label on using ultra-low power carbon lasers. The power is so low, in fact, that the actual skin of the fruit is never penetrated, the etching only penetrates two or three cells, even in sensitive ones like a tomato. How do we know it doesn't open up even microscopic holes into the inside?
They wondered whether etching would result in water loss, affecting the fruit's physical appearance and ultimately making it less appealing. They also wondered whether the pinhole depressions would increase the number of entry sites for decay-promoting organisms.
They stored laser-labelled fruit in a cooler for five weeks and found there was no more decay than the non-etched control fruit. Researchers even coated fruit with penicillin spores before and after etching, and no decay was observed, the study found.
The marks, though only a few cells deep, are impossible to wash off or remove resulting in a safer, more easily traceable fruit and vegetable supply then we have today.
The energy savings over paper-and-glue labels, the security enhancements, and the overall increase in ease of use for this technology has the FDA in the final stages of approving the technique. It's already in place, as mentioned, in Australia, New Zealand and some other Pacific Rim countries. Can't wait till it shows up here.
Sources used:
*Photonics
*Hydroponics AU
*Chew on That
*CBC
*Slashdot
*Inhabitat