The Incredible Disappearing Barcode

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It's happened to most of us (some more often than others): You bite into an apple/pear/cucumber only to find that the perfectly ripe fruit or vegetable you picked up at the store two days ago is not exactly ripe but is rather disgusting. According to Treehugger, designers at Yanko Designs are developing a new barcode that will make that unpleasant experience a thing of the past:

A group of designers have decided that there's got to be a better way to find the freshest produce in a supermarket. Rather than trust your own senses, they think a fading barcode is the right solution. They've come up with a barcode that starts off as a usual barcode, then slowly fades along with the product's freshness. Not only would you be able to see which fruits and veggies have just been delivered, but when the barcode is nonexistent, that indicates to the store that it's time to toss the product rather than sell it.

I'm absolutely no good at picking out which produce is good and which is a day from being garbage, so the barcode sounds like it might be helpful, assuming grocery stores use it correctly. Of course, for those with access to a farmers market or personal garden, getting fruits and vegetables from either will increase that fresh food guarantee exponentially, rendering the barcode slightly unnecessary.Photo courtesy of Yanko Designs, via Treehugger