Article:Firm seeks to ID produce with lasers instead of stickers

[Guest guest]

An interesting article...

 

* * *

 

By Andrew Bridges

The Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON — The days of peeling pesky stickers off apples and tomatoes may soon

be

over. A Georgia company is seeking federal approval for a laser that etches

indelible but

edible labels onto the skins of fruits and vegetables.

 

The laser device could tag onions, cucumbers, kiwis, pears — all manner of

produce —

according to Durand-Wayland. The company wants federal regulations amended to

allow

it, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Wednesday.

 

The etched logos would be an alternative to the stickers that mark most fruits

and

vegetables sold in the United States, though it's not clear they'd be to

consumers' liking.

 

The stickers most commonly bear a standard code, called a produce look-up or PLU

code,

used to ring up fruits and vegetables at the register. They also can include

brand names,

logos and country-of-origin information.

 

" I don't like it. I don't want my fruit lasered. I'll take a sticker over a

laser. The less

tampering with fruit, the better, " said consumer Ellen Hamilton, 41, of

Alexandria, Va.,

when told about the technology.

 

Durand-Wayland, a LaGrange, Ga., manufacturer of spraying, packing and labeling

machinery, wanted to start selling the $38,000 lasers two years ago, but the FDA

told it to

hold off until it could show they were safe. Any source of radiation, including

the light of a

laser, used to treat or process food is considered a food additive.

 

Durand-Wayland President Fred Durand III said the company delivered the agency a

petition with the results of tests that show the technology is safe. The FDA has

180 days

to review the findings, filed March 5.

 

Etching

 

 

The laser works by vaporizing the top layer of skin from produce, exposing the

typically

lighter layers underneath. That contrast allows the etching to stand out. It

works well with

fruit such as peaches, plums and nectarines, but not with cantaloupes (too

lumpy) or

brown potatoes (insufficient contrast).

 

The Associated Press

 

The FDA designated it for expedited review because the technology could improve

the

agency's ability to track and trace produce during an outbreak of food-borne

disease, said

Andy Zajac, who oversees petition review in the FDA's office of food-additive

safety.

 

The regulatory agency worries the etching could allow germs to penetrate treated

produce,

a concern noted by Sinclair Systems International, the largest manufacturer of

stickers

used to mark fruit.

 

The FDA also wants to know whether the laser affects the fruit or vegetable.

Test results

submitted by the company are under FDA review.

 

The lasers can etch 14 items a second, said Durand, who touts the technology as

cheaper

and more convenient than stickers. " Stickers are just more expensive all around.

With

laser, it's just light. It doesn't leave any mess. There's no labor. No

inventory. No cleanup, "

he said.

 

A spokeswoman for the Produce Marketing Association called the technology

intriguing.

 

" The industry is always looking for the best, whatever will make things better

and easier, "

said Kathy Means, a spokeswoman for the industry group.

 

The association estimates 60 percent of the most commonly sold fruits and

vegetables are

labeled for origin, either by country or region, typically with stickers or

tags. Such labeling

is voluntary. The 2002 Farm Act made country-of-origin labeling mandatory for

seafood,

meat and produce, but the requirement is on hold until September 2008 for the

latter two

foods.

 

Southern Oregon Sales, a Medford, Ore., grower cooperative, used the

Durand-Wayland

laser etcher on a trial basis last year, tagging 2,000 to 3,000 cases of fruit.

Sales manager

Dave Bryan said he figures the machine could pay for itself in five years, while

eliminating

sticker frustration and improving produce safety.

 

" From a food-safety standpoint, it's huge, " Bryan said.

 

Sinclair Systems has watched the technology but is sticking to stickers. Fran

Garcia, the

Fresno, Calif., company's vice president of global sales and marketing, said

advanced bar-

code technology will keep demand for stickers high.

 

Durand said test results should put all fears to rest.

 

That may not sway consumer Autumn Majack, 33, of Milton, Pierce County. She said

she

prefers her fruit free of all labels, whether laser-etched or stuck on: " You

know what

you're buying. "

 

 

2007 The Seattle Times Company

 

Full article:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003663222_produce12.html

[Guest guest]

I'm trying to decide if this is a good thing or not. My husband is

always complaining about the peel-and-stick labels. Somehow, anything

that's this technologically sophisticated and leaves something that's

" indelible but edible " and is approved by the FDA (red flags?) has me

holding my breath, waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop. A

laser that can etch a label onto the fruit/vegetable skin - would that

be heating the fruit/vegetable enough to destroy plant tissue/enzymes?

Time for a discussion here...

 

Thanks -

 

Sue

 

 

>

> WASHINGTON — The days of peeling pesky stickers off apples and

> tomatoes may soon be

> over. A Georgia company is seeking federal approval for a laser that

> etches indelible but

> edible labels onto the skins of fruits and vegetables.

>

>