ONE of the biggest headaches for fruit sellers is ending the day with a pile of damaged produce because customers have been constantly squeezing it to find out if it is ripe, writes Julie Earle-Levine.

However, thanks to a New Zealand invention those days could soon be over. Ripe Sense is “intelligent” packaging — a label that detects aroma compounds and changes colour as the fruit ripens. The label moves from red, which means the fruit is unripe, to an orangey-red (half-ripe) to yellow (fully ripe).

The invention is good news for retailers, because less fruit will be damaged, and for customers because it means that they can choose fruit of a specific ripeness.

The Ripe Sense label is the result of five years of research by Jenkins Group and its partner, Hort Research.

Cameron McInness, manager of Jenkins’s horticultural division, said: “This sensor allows us to develop packaging that gives customers instant messages through the colour changes of a label.”

The technology is currently being applied to pears because, said Keith Sharrock, a Hort Research scientist, their ripeness is particularly difficult to determine. “Pears, unlike apples, need to soften before they achieve their maximum flavour. As a result, shoppers often squeeze and damage the fruit as they make their selection,” he said.

A clamshell-shaped pack is moulded to the shape of the pears to trap the aroma for Ripe Sense to work. Shoppers can choose softer pears that are ready to eat or firmer ones for eating in a few days. Research is under way to develop labels for kiwi fruit, avocado and melons.

Ripe Sense is being tested in America and is heading to Britain later this year. So if you think you might have a simple but effective idea to keep fresh produce looking its best, it might be time to start putting it into action.