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News: fruit may no longer come with sticky labels thanks to an EU ruling approving the use of chemicals applied with a laser to brand fresh produce.

The European Union has approved the use of iron oxides and hydroxides on the skin of fruit, which are used to make laser markings stand out more clearly without penetrating the peel.

Alongside company branding and information on country of origin, the tattoos could include barcodes or QR codes that shoppers would scan to access more details about the produce.

Spanish company Laser Food, which has developed a machine that can apply laser logos to as many as 54,000 pieces of fruit an hour, has been campaigning for the ban on the chemicals to be lifted since 2009.

The company claims the technique could have environmental benefits by reducing the paper, plastic and glue used in stickers, as well as preventing fruit being sold on without details of its supply chain.

Other packaging design we’ve reported on recently includes medicine packs designed to fit in between Coca-Cola bottles to take advantage of the company’s vast distribution network and limited editions of famous products with no brand names on the packaging.

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Images are by Laser Food.

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