I like this new produce sticker

[coll]

Got home from shopping last night and was pleasantly surprised to notice this innovative country of origin sticker; I know it's the law but it's not usually right in your face like this.

[LindaWhit]

Mine doesn't have the possible breakdown of where the produce could be from - it usually just says "Product of Peru" or "Product of Canada" printed just below the name of the item (or on the apple/whatever sticker).

[lisavf]

I have a question for you. Did you print the sticker that says "Savoy Cabbage" and the price? Or is that already on the produce? I ask because I usually shop at Wegmans, and I weigh and sticker all my own produce.

That seems like a lot of extra work for the store, although it is good information to have. Wegmans generally states the country of origin for each item on the sign that's hooked to the bin. If it's locally grown, they will often list the farm where it was grown as well.

[coll]

That's the thing, it might be posted somewhere in the produce section but I don't really pay attention. If I need it, I need it. I really appreciated their putting it out there for me to see when I got home; I think it's sometimes on the label but don't usually notice. I can guess by the price and the season where the heck it came from. I still stand by my liking it!

[lisavf]

I think more info is always better than less, so I agree, it's a good thing!

[sunshine842]

don't get me wrong -- I'm not arguing with having country of origin on the label -- but there's a huge amount of white space on that label...which is a waste of paper, ink, and glue, and necessitates the use of additional packaging because the label is bigger than most fruit -- try, for example, slapping that bedsheet of a label on a banana or an apple. Ain't gonna happen, unless (like the photo) you add a styrofoam tray and cling wrap to the paper and ink and glue.

Waste, waste, waste.

Put the country of origin on there -- but find a way to do it that doesn't require using a packing crate to carry the label.

[coll]

I'll check it out next week when I shop again, I need tons of produce. It may just be an experiment, who knows? If I see more, I'll contact them and find out the reason.

[sunshine842]

from a sales-and-marketing standpoint, I'm aghast at the sheer volume of real estate this takes up -- it's not possible to paste a label this size on a lot of produce items, necessitating styrofoam trays and plastic....all to hold an enormous sticker.

it's possible to just print "product of xxxxxx" right on the sticker...and then you're not relying on the stockperson to check the right box (because,you know, Chile and Colombia and Costa Rica all start with a C)

[Cathy]

Agree. The machines already print out whatever you'd like on the label. Like "Savoy Cabbage", twice.

In addition, the proximity of USA just above Mexico on this sticker, as well as all of those countries listed so closely could have a manual checkmark (the size shown) being unclear or deceptive as to which country is the origin.

[coll]

In the summer they will often say "local" on a sign; we have probably a hundred farms minutes away and I think some of it really is, but I also wonder if local could mean New Jersey (ie out of state) too. The name of the farm is a nice touch. But then again in the summer, I'd rather just go to the farm!

[pine time]

Have never seen a sticker like that--will look at my favorite produce store--great idea. (Altho', that fav store sometimes has hand printed signs, esp. with local produce, giving not just the state, but county and/or name of farm)