Tesco launch futuristic fruit and veg change that could soon affect all UK stores

Shoppers heading down the fruit and veg aisle in a Tesco supermarket could soon notice a futuristic change to product labelling that will help the grocery giant to eliminate millions of piece of plastic. If the change proves to be a success, those small plastic barcode labels, a mainstay in British supermarkets for decades, could be replaced by lasers.

In a trial across a variety of its stores, the UK's largest supermarket has started etching barcodes into its avocados using a high powered laser - in a move that would replace fruit barcode stickers with a simple environmentally-friendly laser etching.

The lasers removed a small layer of the product's skin to create the barcode effect, which shoppers can then scan at any of the supermarket's tills. Westfalia Fruit, the supplier of avocados to Tesco, stated that avocados are ideal for this laser trial due to their thick outer skin.

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The lasers will inscribe size information onto the avocados as directed by a computer programme, with the process taking just a third of a second.

Once the avocados have been lasered, they are essentially left with a tattoo on their skin which displays information for customers and cashiers, such as the size or variety of the fruit. Westfalia Fruit has conducted extensive trials to ensure that the quality, shelf life and taste of the popular salad item is not affected by the laser etchings.

Tesco, which sells nearly 70 million avocados annually and has seen demand for the fruit increase by 15 per cent in the last year, said it is starting with laser etchings on the extra large avocados as they provide the most visual impact. The supermarket chain is also