Apr 22, 2009 5:51 pm US/Eastern
High-Tech Labels To Hit Supermarket Shelves
Labels Will Release Tantalizing Scents Of Food As You Walk By
Bar Codes For Contaminted Products Will Trigger Alert At Register
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Many stores are now turning to some sweet-smelling secrets tempting you to buy more. (File)
AP
Imagine the smell of brownies grabbing your attention while you roam the aisles at your neighborhood market. The scent isn't coming from the mix inside the box, but from an electronic label programmed to release a bit of mouth-watering aroma every time a shopper walks by.
The new labels aim to get consumers to buy more by emitting tantalizing smells.
"If you got coffee, they'll send out the coffee aroma when they sense you're coming by," says Peter Harrop, Chairman of IDTechex, the company behind the new technology.
Smell-emitting labels are not the only kind of new technology debuting on store shelves. New, high-tech bar codes can now change colors to prevent the sale of a product subjected to temperature changes, risking contamination.
"When you scan (a contaminated product) at the checkout counter instead what you come up with is "Error, bad product," says Brett Lucht, a University of Rhode Island researcher.
Other labels being tested will protect consumers even after they take the product home, CBS station WCBS-TV reported. The labels warn people of possible food contamination in their own refrigerators.
Another label does even more.
"(The label) will be talking to you when you touch it, in addition to giving you print that may scroll, like on your computer, to give you instructions in whatever size font you want," says Harrop.
Other new labels will come with computerized messages that promise prizes.
The new labels will cost about $.4 each. The cost is about triple that of current labels, WCBS-TV reported.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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