Please scan your avocado at the till ... no label required

AVOCADOS with laser-printed barcodes are going on sale at M&S as part of a drive to reduce paper waste.

The labels, which are etched on to fruit’s skin with lasers instead of stickers, will save 10 tons of paper and five tons of glue every year, say M&S.

They could soon be introduced to other fruit and vegetables and adopted by other supermarkets which are looking for waste reduction techniques.

It works by shining intense light on to the avocado’s skin, which retracts back and discolours only the very top layer, meaning it does not damage the fruit.

Avocados are lasered with the shop logo, best before date, country of origin and product code for entering at the till.

Charlie Curtis, an M&S fruit technologist, said: “When we first saw the technology in Sweden a couple of years ago, I knew we had to get involved.

“Sustainability is at the heart of our business and the laser labelling is a brilliant way for us to reduce packaging and energy use.”

M&S first introduced avocados in 1968 as an “avocado pear”, which it claims customers “enjoyed” as a dessert with custard.

Today Britain is experiencing an avocado boom as the fruit is now considered among the most fashionable foods, with sales soaring by 29 per cent last year.

Last month “wonky” avocados went on sale at Morrisons for just 39p, just as supermarkets were claiming that high demand for the fruit meant perfect specimens were running out.

Waitrose has also launched a giant sized version in an attempt to win the hearts of avocado fans, while M&S began stocking pre-packed avocado slices to take the hassle out of preparing them.

Similar laser labelling was trialled several years ago on citrus fruits using a different technology, but it caused a slight deterioration in skin quality so was discontinued.

Mr Curtis added: “Providing all goes well with the avocado lasering, we could look at rolling the technology out to all sorts of other fruit and vegetables in the future.

“We have the potential to reduce packaging exponentially which is very exciting.”