New Label Shows When Fruit Is Ripe 54
Dekaner writes "New Scientist has an article about a new 'smart' label developed in New Zealand changes color as fruit inside the package with it ripens. The label is designed to stop customers squeezing the fruit to tell if it is ripe enough to eat. The first packages to be tested contain pears, which need to be soft before they are eaten. If the labels prove effective with pears, the research institute in New Zealand will develop versions that work with kiwi fruit, avocados and melons."
hm... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:hm... (Score:1, Insightful)
Sure it does. Now you can pass over fruit that says it's already ripe.
Re:hm... (Score:1)
Re:What? (Score:1)
unintentional, but the mere fact that you noticed it was a php closing tag means you yourself dabble in the code of the devil.
anyway, back on topic, i still think we should be allowed to squeeze all we like!
Re:hm... (Score:2, Informative)
For example, fruits which will ripen at room temperature AFTER picking:
1. Golden Delicious and Gravenstein Apples only
2. Avocados
3. Apricots
4. Bananas
5. Guava
6. Mangoes
7. Papaya
8. Pears
9. Persimmons
10. Pineapples
11. Plums
12. Pomegranates
13. Cactus fruit
The following fruits will not ripen at room temperature AFTER picking:
1. All Apples (except t
Re:hm... (Score:2)
Bananas will ripen faster in a paper bag than not.
Squeeze Harder (Score:1, Funny)
perhaps... (Score:5, Interesting)
One Small Problem... (Score:3, Insightful)
Doesn't the fruit itself change color as it ripens?
Re:One Small Problem... (Score:4, Informative)
Bananas are just about the only fruit I can think of that you can tell accurately tell ripeness based on color. There's probably more than that, but my point is that color is not a good indication of ripeness for most fruits.
Re:One Small Problem... (Score:1)
do you call grapefruit grapes? do you call blackberries blacks? or oranges oras? no.
besides, a kiwi is a small flightless bird which is an endangered species, and our national symbol.
Re:One Small Problem... (Score:2)
My apologies for the slip.. I actually thought that calling them kiwifruit was the wrong way to do it, and intentionally left the fruit bit off. I'll use dictionary.com next time I have a moment of confusion.
Re:One Small Problem... (Score:1)
Re:One Small Problem... (Score:2)
Re:One Small Problem... (Score:5, Informative)
mmmmm (Score:1, Funny)
But (Score:1)
Re:But (Score:1)
Nature did it already (Score:5, Funny)
that's a good idea (Score:4, Interesting)
And not too hard to implement. You would need a substance that changes color in the presence of ethylene (the plant hormone that encourages ripening).
I am guessing that they are putting some chlorophyll (a simple sugar produced by most plants/green algae) onto a sticker. Ethylene causes the sugar to break down, changing chlorophyll (the reason plants are green) to some other simpler sugar (which would show a different color).
Re:that's a good idea (Score:4, Informative)
Chlorophyll is not a sugar. It is a porphyrin derivative called a chlorin. Here is the structure [bris.ac.uk].
Just cant see this being a hit with certain people (Score:5, Insightful)
At least for a couple more years anyway....
When I go for groceries, and the wife has asked me to pick up some sort of vegetables/fruits, this little sticker would be a blessing. Now say if my mother/grandmother were to go, i'm sure she would disregard the sticker, and squeeze the fruit regardless, because that's what they've been doing for years and years of cooking. For our 'packaged food is better food' generation, this may work, but for the older 'cook from scratch' generation, I just cant see it being a big hit.
Re:Just cant see this being a hit with certain peo (Score:2)
Not to mention that you feel mor
Re:Just cant see this being a hit with certain peo (Score:5, Funny)
Don't worry. The new Medicare bill will take care of those trouble-makers.
This Will Only Be A Hit (Score:2)
Re:Just cant see this being a hit with certain peo (Score:2)
Re:Just cant see this being a hit with certain peo (Score:3, Insightful)
I wouldn't buy fruit or veggies without touching them. I check apples for firmness, smell carrots, sueeze and smell peppers, taste the end of celery, wiggle the stems of artichokes, etc. That's just how a smart consumer/cook buys produce.
There are always going to be smart consumers wanting to "kick the tires" - be it a car or a fruit that they are buying. That's not
Re:Just cant see this being a hit with certain peo (Score:3, Funny)
That's disturbing. Now not only do I know that my food has been sniffed and squeezed (or licked apparently in the case of celery), but that description in general was horrifying reminiscent of foreplay.
melons (Score:4, Funny)
A label will never be able to replace the feel of squeezing a melon.
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Re:melons (Score:1, Funny)
You should always be able to squeeze melons. Theres nothing wrong with squeezing them, you need to be able to tell if it's firm but soft. Too soft isn't good.
I tried explaining this to the wife, but first she insisted she had a headache, then slapped me for suggesting they were too saggy.
A few different ways to tell this joke... (Score:2)
-Stickers indicate when melons are at their peak...tassles extra.
-Sciences frees us from burden of squeezing ripe melons, still no cure for cancer (nods to Fark)
-Nice stickers, but how do you get Natalie Portman to wear them?
-But how do you see the stickers under the sweater?
Did I miss any...hope not. I'd hate to think this melon thread hadn't been thouroughly milked.
Slashdot: Your home for single-entendre.
Stickers on fruit suck. (Score:4, Insightful)
Years ago a friend of mine was moving up from bag boy to checker at a supermarket, he had to memorize all the codes for fruits and vegtables and pass a test. Now a checker reads the code off a sticker, shifting the burden to the consumer.
I don't think the color change adds enough value to balance the annoyance of removing a sticker from every piece of fruit you buy.
They're approaching this from the wrong direction (Score:5, Insightful)
For the most part grocery stores don't have a problem with getting produce to market too early. More the opposite, when the produce is too old and it pains them to throw it out at a loss.
Unfortunately something tells me that stores wouldn't be very interested in a sticker that turned into a Mr. Yuck when the fruit went bad.
Re:They're approaching this from the wrong directi (Score:2)
This won't stop me, although for some things like peaches, I wouldn't mind it, because I like my peaches slightly crisp, and would learn to look for the non-ripe-showing stickers.
Interesting Enough.... (Score:2, Funny)
Pears need to be soft? (Score:2)
They do? I prefer my pears hard and crispy. At least Bosc, Anjou, and Asian pears taste fine to me while still hard.
New Libel? so this is a SCO story? (Score:1)
Good! No excuse to bruise all the fruit! (Score:2)
Look before you touch! Buy what you touch! I realize these spiffly labels probably won't eliminate this little pet peeve of mine, but one ca