Lasers are being used to 'tattoo' barcodes onto extra large avocados to replace stickers at a UK supermarket. High-powered beams will draw the Tesco logo by removing a tiny section of the top layer of the skin in a trial designed to be environmentally friendly. The etching, directed by a computer program, takes a third of a second to mark an avocado, 70 million of which Tesco sells a year.
'We're really excited to hear customer feedback on our new laser-etched avocados, avoiding the need for a barcode sticker that can easily be forgotten and left on when recycling through household food waste,' said Tesco avocado buyer Lisa Gilbey.The trial also includes replacing the plastic tray packaging for two of its most popular avocado lines and moving to a cardboard container that is easier to recycle.