Produce bar coding design

I stole this from the Yanko Design blog and it's a pretty cool idea. Instead of just a normal bar code. This special bar code goes on produce and slowly fades as the product sits on the shelf and ages. It's very similar to Oral B toothbrushes or even the born on date on the bottom of Budweiser. The whole point is to give consumers an idea of how long it has been sitting around on the shelf and if it's still good or not.

I love the spirit of the idea and innovation is always cool. However, I see a couple of small problems. First off, most produce doesn't have a bar code. It has a 4 digit number that the cashier enters in by hand. I think I'd be turned off if my produce suddenly had a bar code, let along some high-tech bar code. The other thing is that it's pretty easy to tell if cabbage is still good or not. I, for one, enjoy shopping for produce because you actually get to use your senses when selecting products. This bar code wouldn't do anything to enhance that experience.

Still though. I'm not mad at innovation and new ideas. Please check out the Yanko Design blog to read the full story.