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Ripeness indicator proves fruitful

A sensor label puts science into the art of determining a pear’s ripeness.

Pw 12958 News Pears Rl

The Pear Bureau Northwest, Milwaukee, OR, helped coordinate a market test of the technology from October 2003 through the year’s end at six Zupan’s supermarkets in the Portland, OR, area. Tested were polyester clamshell four-packs of green Anjou pears, which do not change color as they ripen.

The ripeSense™ sensor from the Jenkins Group is affixed inside the front lid of the clear polyester clamshell. The sensor label’s color changing chemistry responds to the ripening aromas of the fruit. Before packing by Stadelman’s of Hood River, OR, the fruit is ethylene conditioned to hasten and equalize the pears’ ripening. The indicator color visually indicates the pears’ ripeness on an accompanying pressure-sensitive label printed with the scale from crisp (orange) to juicy (yellow).

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