“The idea is to permanently label fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Stephane Merit of LaserFood. “So we found a way to use a very gentle laser to make a very superficial mark on the fruit.” The laser doesn't actually cut into the skin of the fruit in any way, it just takes off the topmost layer of pigment on the skin. A food-grade contrasting liquid is then applied to the fruit to get the desired label.
“We can do it for most fruit,” said Merit. “We're just limited by the size of the fruit itself.” The technology, that is patented, is approved for use in the European Union on melons, citrus fruit and pomegranates, but Merit hopes that approval for more items will occur soon. Developed with help from a grant from the European Union and with the cooperation of the University of Valencia, LaserFood has partnered with JBT to market the technology on international markets (except the US).
“This technology has huge potential for marketing,” said Merit. “It also reduces the carbon footprint from packaging because you don't use glue or paper, and you use less energy to manufacture packaging. That's one of the reasons we were able to get a grant from the European Union.”
