NOVEMBER 2024
CELEBRATING 145 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION
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HARMONIZATION
Are PLUs stuck on plastic?
It’s a complicated journey from picking apples in the orchard to final packaging for the retail customer. Factors such as food safety, logistics and packing line equipment play a role in getting apples to the shelf in pristine condition. One of the components is applying a price look-up (PLU) sticker to bulk fruits or vegetables. That seemingly simple step may change as the global industry strives towards industrially compostable PLU stickers. Photos by Marcella DiLonardo. KAREN DAVIDSON The price look-up (PLU) sticker is about to become the poster child for one small step towards a healthier planet. Since 1990, the ubiquitous plastic label has allowed bulk fresh produce to be accurately identified and priced without delay at the retail counter. But Europe is proposing a move to industrially compostable PLUs with implementation likely by 2028. That’s why the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) coordinated an international meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario on October 1, 2024 to gather consensus on certified compostable produce stickers. The big news is that attendees agreed with enthusiastic endorsement from the Compost Council of Canada. “Since its incorporation in 2006, the International Federation of Produce Standards (IFPS) has led the produce industry in global standardization efforts around traceability, data management, and produce
George Gilvesy retires
apples. We use a formulation for tender fruit that won’t peel off the skin.”
Cost of packing line equipment
Sinclair International, a global supplier of compostable fresh produce labels, has recently signed a deal with New Zealand’s Zespri kiwifruit to provide an industrial compostable label that works in an automated, high-speed application. In real terms, that means speeds of applying 150 to 720 labels per minute. “We’re now into our fourth iteration of compostable labels,” says Wil Murray senior director of operations for Sinclair, based out of California. The newest label is certified for industrial composting in 12 weeks and for home composting which could take up to a year. Not only does the company supply PLU labels but promotional labels up to three inches by two inches in size suitable for watermelons or squash. Continued on page 3
A PLU sticker has three components: a sticker substrate, inks and an adhesive. Rod Baeini, general manager and vice-president sales for Accu-Label, says his Windsor-based company introduced a paper label 23 years ago. With a cost-competitive product, in his view the hurdle is not the label itself but the investment in equipment to make it work. Until growers are legislated to use it, they have no incentive to migrate. Interestingly, Accu-Label, uses water-based inks and hot-melt adhesive to make its labels stick. The company has customized its formulations for different fruits. “Take peaches, for example,” says Baeini. “Because of their skin type, we have to use a stronger adhesive than
Food waste report
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Volume 74 Number 11 P.M. 40012319
identification,” says Jane Proctor, IFPS chair. “Sustainability is recognized as the next big challenge and opportunity for the industry and we were therefore happy to co-host this important event.”
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Lack of global harmonization
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