Tattooed Fruit

By Cari Martens

There’s just something about putting glue on fruit that takes away the magic. It reminds you that this piece of produce has been man handled, shipped, branded and sprayed with who knows what. But a tattoo – now there’s a happening piece of fruit.

Seriously, the labels are an issue, whether you are the end eater, the farmer, the packer or the retailer. Now The Natural Light Labeling System claims to eliminate those problems. Here’s how it works: Using a concentrated beam of light, it removes the pigment from the outer layer of skin, revealing a contrasting color underneath. It can “tattoo” on logos, PLU’s, country of origin, lot and batch numbers – virtually anything you might want – all without buying, peeling, storing, or cleaning adhesive labels ever again.

Here are a few more benefits, from Trendhunter.com:

• It’s edible: You just eat the label.

• It builds confidence: Now you don’t have to worry about whether the label on your produce is the same as its original. With etched fruit and vegetables, there’s no doubt.

• It’s environmentally friendly: Etching of fruit does not consume inks, paper or plastic.

• It can identify Country Of Origin

• It provides trackability: Etched fruit can be permanently marked with information that allows produce to be isolated and tested, much as over the counter drugs.

• Ease at check out: If an adhesive label has fallen off of your fruit before you purchase it, good luck with that price check.

Look at it this way: For every person who ever put a banana sticker on his or her forehead, there is now a tattoo!

For more innovations and insights, check out CultureWaves. And, take a look at a few of our other Hot & Cool Trends from CultureWaves™.

Have you seen an innovative product that will make our food lives more fun in the future? Let us know at Editor.