Shoppers heading down the fruit and veg aisle at a Tesco supermarket could soon notice a futuristic change to product labeling that will help the food giant eliminate millions of pieces of plastic. If the change proves successful, those small plastic barcode labels that have been a staple in UK supermarkets for decades could be replaced by lasers.
In a trial run at various of its stores, Britain’s biggest supermarket has begun etching barcodes into its avocados using a high-powered laser – in a move that would replace the fruit’s barcode stickers with simple, environmentally friendly laser etching.
Lasers removed a small layer of the product’s skin, creating a barcode effect that customers can then scan at any supermarket checkout. Westfalia Fruit, an avocado supplier to Tesco, said the avocado was ideal for the laser trial because of its strong outer skin.
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Lasers write the size information into the avocado as instructed by a computer program, a process that takes only a third of a second.
Once the avocados are lasered, they are essentially left with a tattoo on their skin that displays information for customers and cashiers, such as the size or variety of the fruit. Westfalia Fruit has carried out extensive tests to ensure that the quality, durability and taste of the popular salad product are not affected by laser etching.
Tesco, which sells almost 70 million avocados a year and has seen demand for the fruit increase by 15 per cent in the past year, said it is starting to laser-etch extra-large avocados because they have the biggest visual impact. The supermarket chain is also testing swapping the plastic tray packaging for two of its most popular avocado ranges with a cardboard container that is easier to recycle.
The trials will take place in around 270 Tesco stores in the South East of England and, if customer feedback is positive, will be rolled out across the Tesco site. The food giant is working with Westfalia Fruit, a leading UK avocado supplier based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, for the pioneering trial.
The supermarket giant said that if the initiative is rolled out to all its stores, it could remove more than 20 million pieces of plastic from just two packs of avocado, potentially rising to 25 million across its entire range of pre-packaged products. According to current sales figures from the supplier, Tesco could remove almost one million plastic stickers from its bulk extra large avocados.
Lisa Gilbey, avocado buyer at Tesco, said: “We are always looking for innovative ways to reduce the impact of our products on the environment and reduce plastic waste in households through changes to our packaging.
“We’re really excited to hear customer feedback on our new laser-etched avocado, so we don’t need a barcode sticker that’s easy to forget and leave behind when recycling household waste.”
Graham Isaac, CEO of Westfalia Fruit, added: “We are constantly looking for ways to improve our environmental performance and act responsibly by focusing on priorities such as reducing and, wherever possible, removing plastic from our packaging, to help solve problems. challenge to plastic waste.
“We are confident that with a clear focus and united effort as an industry we will be able to significantly reduce waste, use natural resources responsibly and protect the environment and biodiversity for our future.”
The laser-etched avocados have been rolling out to Tesco stores over the past few weeks and will be available in all participating stores by this weekend.