It is amazing, how advancing technology has influenced what would seem to be the simple task of selling apples in supermarkets. Not so long ago, the checkout cashier was expected to know the difference between apple varieties such as Granny Smith and Golden Delicious, and charge the customer accordingly. When, for various reasons, this became too arduous, each apple was provided with a little sticker (known as a P. L. U., or price look-up). But these were time-consuming and expensive to apply, and provided too little information. Further, if they were too sticky they were difficult to remove, and if they were not sticky enough they fell off.
In 2002 the American laser expert Greg Drouillard offered a solution, patenting his idea of tattooing the skin of the apple with a laser-scannable barcode. The barcode would inform a computer, as to the type of apple, where it came from, when it was picked, who picked it, how many calories it contained, and whether it was organic, genetically modified, or Fair Trade.
With the aid of the barcode, the apple could be tracked and traced on its whole journey, from tree to consumer. Laser tattoos can also be burned into a host of other fruits and vegetables, including pears, peaches, lemons, oranges, cucumbers, and peppers. Only soft and easily perishable foods such as strawberries are unsuitable. However, there remain a few questions, such as whether a fruit is still organic if it has been laser tattooed.
On the other hand, the laser track and trace system can be applied to many other manufactured items, and has been extremely useful in the pharmaceutical industry with its time-sensitive blood and vaccination products passing along the distribution pipeline.
