Fruit labels have their fans, weirdly. Some, like Roger Harris, founder of "the world's first fruit label" site, "The World of Fruit Labels," wax poetic about the design of the little stickers affixed to pears, oranges and apples sold in supermarkets. But there is one element of the fruit label that no one, not even the diehards, likes: the little residue left behind after peeling a label off a piece of fruit. Harris, for example, writes:
Often after removing the label a thin layer of glue remains and it requires some effort and solvent to remove it. Since one may easily eat some of the adhering glue I wonder whether fruit label glues are subject to analysis for toxicity.
The fruit label residue problem may, indeed, be the worst thing about eating fruit out of hand, other than the fact that fruit doesn't taste like bacon or foie gras or Dom Perignon.
The third-biggest annoyance that crops up when eating raw fruit is the pain of rinsing fruit. It raises questions. (How does one avoid getting one's hands wet? Does one dry the piece of fruit using a towel or one's shirt? Should one use soap for a more thorough cleanse? Will using soap increase one's risk of cancer more than eating the pear decrease one's risk of cancer?) But help is on its way for anxious, reluctant fruit-eaters, in the form of a fruit label innovation.
The new label, called a Fruitwash Label and invented by designer Scott Amron, dissolves into a natural produce wash when wet. That means that the Fruitwash Labels solves the problem of fruit labels and the problem of fruit washing at the exact same time.
The Fruitwash Label doesn't exist yet, but Amron is already selling 10% stakes on the strength of his patent.