# Barcodes on fruit disturbs me. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862 "2009-07-04T01:52:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jerseyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Jerseyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerseyman)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/21 "2009-07-05T00:16:13Z")
Local supermarkets pack fruit (of course soft fruit like strawberries always come packed) and code the package. Others slap a little stick label on the fruit or veg or shrink-wrap it with a label. When something not usually bought individually is sold loose, then usually the till (especially self-service) offers a choice of items and weighs it or the older system is a separate machine to print a coded label to be stuck on it. I bought some stuff from a salad bar today like that - except that the machine had run out of labels (naturally!) Strange that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody to cheat on this by weighing an item as something cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/22 "2009-07-05T00:57:36Z")
I’ve been predicting that Genetically Modified fruit will actually grow the barcode someday… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/23 "2009-07-05T02:34:16Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Actually, it wouldn’t be out of the question to print something using a fancy ink which is sensitive to the outgassing the fruit does as it ripens, and perhaps sensitive to the output products of spoilage as well. So you could have a stop-light looking thingy on the fruit where yellow means _not ripe yet_, green means _peak of perfection_, and red means _past its prime_. > > But since the beneficiary would be the consumer and not the store, I doubt we’ll see much effort put into that particular innovation. That actually exists. It’s an ethylene sensor - ethylene is a ripening hormone in fruits. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/24 "2009-07-05T03:20:37Z")
Who can tell the difference between a swede and a turnip? No check out chick I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/25 "2009-07-05T04:54:33Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Somethings just bug people. I know! The other day I’m reading the SDMB and I’m like, “the damn word is two words! some…things !” ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/26 "2009-07-05T05:39:57Z")
What are you, some kind of hippy? If you are so intent on living a life free from the influence of The Evil Corporations, I would suggest becoming Amish. As others have mentioned it’s just a convenience. You can grow your own food if it bugs you that much. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/27 "2009-07-05T14:49:04Z")
Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the stickers that just have numbers on them? You know, gala apples are 4732 and fuji are 8419 (pulling numbers out of thin air). They’re there so that the checkers know what code to punch in on the scale. If you’re OK with those, can you explain how they’re any different from bar codes? They’re both just numbers, in different fonts. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/28 "2009-07-05T16:20:58Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I was hoping this was the answer. I’ve done some work on traceability of computer components, and it is depressing that the food industry does this better than we do. I’ve read the standards for wine. You can, starting with the barcode on the bottle, trace all the grapes the wine was made from down to a few hundred meters at most, plus the cask it was aged in and its cork. Seriously? I must know how! Man, to think I could walk down the aisle of Safeway with a barcode reader and scrape that kind of data… I think I just nerded my pants. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/29 "2009-07-05T17:28:33Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the stickers that just have numbers on them? You know, gala apples are 4732 and fuji are 8419 (pulling numbers out of thin air). They’re there so that the checkers know what code to punch in on the scale. > > If you’re OK with those, can you explain how they’re any different from bar codes? They’re both just numbers, in different fonts. I’ve been reading a lot of Richard Heinberg lately, looking into Permaculture [growing your own food], Deep Ecology and delving into the pioneer within us all. I’ve also been studying how to bring sustainability into urban environs. We are going to be forced to do this as time moves on, as many of our current habits are not sustainable. I am not fundamentally opposed to categorizing the fruit we eat or adding something to it to make it easier to process. I get irked when I allow my mind to wander into the shadow reaches of technology and marrying that with the food we eat. Sure technology has it’s place but does it need to be laser-etched into my food? I know there are those who love this idea, I know we are all individuals reflecting the environments we live in - and I do shop at farm-stands and coops quite a bit. The stickers are not fundamentally bad. I’d rather a sticker with a tree on it representing the orchard it came from with the country on it too. It’s the impersonal nature of a barcode that really irks me I think. Or perhaps I ahve been reading too much Michael Pollan as of late. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/30 "2009-07-05T18:47:43Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Who can tell the difference between a swede and a turnip? No check out chick I know of. Bork! Bork! Bork! I’d better look this one up, that could be a turnip or a Swede, I can never tell. I had no idea rutabega had another name. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/31 "2009-07-05T19:09:12Z")
I’d be more concerned that the fruit was subject to massive artificial evolution (more a concern than puny genetic engineering, imo), sorting, etc., and has been designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, like all our other capitalist food. The little barcode is just icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/32 "2009-07-05T19:32:59Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > The little barcode is just icing on the cake. You know, a cake with a barcode decoration in icing would be pretty neat. Mmm, cake… ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/33 "2009-07-05T19:33:15Z")
For you, it is a way to remove the human element from your shopping experience, making it as cold and clinical as possible and not have to associate with the lowly workers. It seems that people desire not to interact with others, and this way the cashier does not have to ask you or another person what that item is, nor does anyone have to spend time teaching them. Also the cashier can take the hit to their self esteem by the managers assuming that they are incapable of telling the difference between a banana and a apple. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/34 "2009-07-05T19:51:35Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Also the cashier can take the hit to their self esteem by the managers assuming that they are incapable of telling the difference between a banana and a apple. Sure they can tell the difference between an apple and a banana, but can they tell the difference between a [Fuji apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_(apple)), a [Gala apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gala_(apple)), or a [Red Delicious](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious)? All three are frequently found at my grocery store, and not always for the same price. Though they’re not identical, I very much doubt a cashier is going to be able to tell which is which quickly enough to keep the checkout line moving. This is where the sticker comes in handy. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/35 "2009-07-05T20:34:13Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Sure they can tell the difference between an apple and a banana, but can they tell the difference between a [Fuji apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_(apple)), a [Gala apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gala_(apple)), or a [Red Delicious](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious)? All three are frequently found at my grocery store, and not always for the same price. Though they’re not identical, I very much doubt a cashier is going to be able to tell which is which quickly enough to keep the checkout line moving. This is where the sticker comes in handy. When I worked as a cashier, dinosaurs roamed the earth. I could absolutely tell the difference between the fruits, but that was because the only apples available were Red Delicious and some yellow colored fruit. Well, it was at the Tuolumne Meadows store and we really didn’t have a great produce selection. That said, I’d have a hell of a time guessing the difference between a Gala and a Fuji, but a Red Delicious is pretty obvious. By the way, we had electro-mechanical cash registers, analog scales, and a posted tax table (which I had memorized). I also would set the bills on the shelf above the cash drawer, count back change and call out every price. The reason I’m ranting about this is the local Rite-Aid only hires people with IQ’s less than 70 and it bums me out that it takes them 5 minutes to find the bar code on a 12 pack of beer. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/36 "2009-07-05T20:47:26Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > It seems that people desire not to interact with others, and this way the cashier does not have to ask you or another person what that item is, nor does anyone have to spend time teaching them. Also the cashier can take the hit to their self esteem by the managers assuming that they are incapable of telling the difference between a banana and a apple. You think the cashiers are supposed to have the prices to all the fruit they sell \*memorized \*and to just go by whatever the customer tells them? I’ve no doubt people would try and say that fruit X at $3.99 per lb is actually a fruit Y at $0.99 per lb. Every other food item sold is scanned, why should fruit be any different? It’s simply _so you can pay the correct price_. There’s no big bad conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/37 "2009-07-05T21:08:16Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Sure they can tell the difference between an apple and a banana, but can they tell the difference between a [Fuji apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_(apple)), a [Gala apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gala_(apple)), or a [Red Delicious](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious)? Yes. Fujis come in those little [crocheted styrofoam koozies](http://greenway.win.mofcom.gov.cn/www/25/greenway/img/2007919112232.jpg). Galas have a [lovely blend of red and yellow shades](http://img.alibaba.com/photo/50265683/Royal_Gala_Apples.jpg) and are simply yummy.\* Red delicious apples are red, [in no uncertain terms](http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/demos/fruitshop/images/red-delicious-apple.jpg), but not delicious at all. 😃 What really throws me for a loop is when they started putting koozies on Galas as well. Generally, I can tell the difference by the price. Those Fujis are some pricey apples. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/38 "2009-07-05T21:13:25Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > …I’ve no doubt people would try and say that fruit X at $3.99 per lb is actually a fruit Y at $0.99 per lb. Every other food item sold is scanned, why should fruit be any different? It’s simply _so you can pay the correct price_. There’s no big bad conspiracy. My first job was in a supermarket and I hated it when people would put several different kinds of peppers/apples/oranges/etc (all different prices) into the plastic produce bag then bitch at me because I had to take them all out of the bag to weigh them (doubly unpleasant when the lines were long). Eventually I could tell which was the most expensive and just rang the whole bag up as that. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/39 "2009-07-05T21:31:02Z")
On the topic of misidentification of vegetables, I once had a cashier ring up my rhubarb as rutabagas\*. Also, one of the Safeways put in some self-checkout machines, which do in fact prompt you to identify your vegetables yourself. They have pictures of all the vegetables with their names on the screen, and you press the one you’re weighing. \*There are no swedes in California - I’m torn, because swede is a cool name, but rutabaga is fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862/40 "2009-07-05T21:46:47Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Sure they can tell the difference between an apple and a banana, but can they tell the difference between a [Fuji apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_(apple)), a [Gala apple](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gala_(apple)), or a [Red Delicious](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Delicious)? All three are frequently found at my grocery store, and not always for the same price. Though they’re not identical, I very much doubt a cashier is going to be able to tell which is which quickly enough to keep the checkout line moving. This is where the sticker comes in handy. And sometimes the market has regular Fuji apples for $1.49/lb and organic ones at $2.99/lb. So absent the sticker, there’s no way to tell them apart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barcodes-on-fruit-disturbs-me/501862.md?page=3)