US: Laser printing on produce reduces costs and waste

“We have developed an alternative for sticky produce labels,” says Greg Drouillard with Laser Application Technologies, LLC (LAT Produce). Greg passionately talks about a laser that imprints produce. “The laser goes after the pigment and removes it without breaking the skin. It only strips off the top few layers of cells. Tomatoes for instance still have 56 cell layers left after the pigment has been removed, so no damage will be done to the skin. It is just a removal of color.”

The laser can print about seven to ten pieces of fruit per second and imprints can be applied on all fresh produce items as long as the skins have pigment. These are just a few examples of produce varieties that are suitable for laser printing: citrus fruit, melons, mangos, pomegranates, stonefruit, avocados, pears and bell peppers.

After seven years of testing and spending $2 million, the FDA gave approval to LAT Produce only to use the technology on citrus fruit sold in the US. One of the users of this technology is Rob Giuffre with Citrusmark in California. “Our company uses the surface of citrus fruit as a new medium for branding, ads and personalization. We’re initially focused on the adult beverage space and provide branded citrus for promotional activities of most major suppliers of alcoholic beverages. We are also involved in the personalization space and work with caterers and event planners to provide customized citrus wedges for their clients.” Citrusmark imprints multiple images around the citrus and delivers the whole fruit to its clients who then cut the fruit into wedges for the drinks. “It took us a year of research and development to figure out the process and we have been taking orders for about four months now. We are seeing a lot of excitement about this technology," said Giuffre.

For a number of years, LAT Produce has been using the laser technology in Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

“Our labeling system is a breakthrough in food safety,” said Drouillard. “It provides the only system for labeling produce with true item level traceability. As a result, it meets the requirements of being permanent, tamperproof, non-transferable and human readable.” Drouillard adds that this technology exceeds not only the needs of the grower and packinghouse industries, but also the retailer, consumer and policy requirements for traceability of produce. “Our technology allows government agencies to track the cause of food borne illness quicker and more accurately, resulting in fewer illnesses.”

“Laser printing has many benefits,” says Drouillard. “First of all, it is environmentally friendly as no consumables are used to label the produce. Additionally, this technique allows for real-time printing and the message on the label can be fully customized.” Drouillard adds that operational costs are very low. “The laser machine is maintenance free and has a minimum life span of ten years. Purchase costs amount to roughly $25,000 and the laser pays for itself within less than a year, he finishes.” 

For more information:

Greg Drouillard

Tel: (+1) 678-575-2314

Rob Giuffre

Tel: (+1) 415-308-9882