Laser food labels: Sweden saves plastic and energy with a natural brand.

LASER LABELS FOR FOOD

The sticker attached to a potato or a tomato, at first sight, it may seem like a small waste of plastic compared to the millions of tons consumed in the world, but it is precisely from small gestures that revolutions begin, even green ones. Eliminating them completely, among other things, would lead huge savings in energy and CO2 emissions. For this reason the Dutch fruit and vegetable company Nature & More has allied itself with the Swedish supermarket chain Ica to develop a new labeling technique completely "Bio". Instead of those of plastic bags adhesive, on avocado and sweet potatoes, they began to use a “natural brand”. These are actual laser labels for food that use strong light to remove certain pigments from the skin of the products.

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REDUCE PLASTIC EMISSIONS

Obviously subjecting foods to this practice it does not affect their goodness in the slightest and the marking, once the peel has been removed, leaves no marks on the pulp. From Ica they have announced that only for avocados, this measure will lead to a saving 200 kilometers of plastic. Laser technology also produces 1 percent fewer carbon emissions than the processes required to produce a similar-sized sticker.

ORGANIC FOOD LABELS

This initiative not only saves plastic but also records a significant reduction in letter, ink and glue, as well as the energy to produce and transport it. A profit that can also produce higher income at the supermarketIn the Swedish chain, a fifth of customers who buy fruit and vegetables say they pay attention to sustainability of the product. “Organic sales are driven by a environmental awareness, such as the risks of climate change and the hope in the health benefits of these products – explains Peter Hagg, business manager of Ica to the Anglo-Saxon newspaper The Guardian - Young shoppers also choose products at depending on the environmental impact of the packaging. And we know that this trend will be increasingly important in the coming years."

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