Tesco trials new scanners that will change the way you buy fruit

Tesco has made a significant change to its fruit and veg aisle as part of an innovative trial that allows customers to test the ripeness of their fruit before buying.

The supermarket giant has rolled out scanners in five of its stores as part of this new experiment. These devices, which function like miniature x-rays, assess the ripeness of avocados.

Customers can simply hold an avocado in front of one of these scanners, which will then provide one of two ripeness readings - either ready for smashing immediately or better suited for slicing in a salad.

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This cutting-edge technology, known as the One Third Avocado Scanner, was developed by a Dutch company. It is believed to be capable of determining an avocado's ripeness within seconds.

Lisa Lawrence, Tesco's avocado buyer, said: "The scanner will enable shoppers to choose the avocado that is right for them and which therefore can help them plan their usage and desired shelf life, thereby cutting down on waste."

She added: "Smashed avocado on sourdough continues to be one of the trendiest snacks at the moment, garnering millions of views on social media sites for recipe ideas, so we think, for that reason, the scanner will be really popular with shoppers."

The trial follows Tesco revealing that avocados had reached peak popularity amongst customers, with the retailer shifting nearly 15 million more avocados over the past year compared to the previous 52 weeks, reports the Manchester Evening News.

In developing the scheme, the supermarket chain confirmed it would partner with Westfalia Fruit, located in Spalding, Lincolnshire, with Westfalia Fruit's commercial manager Emma Howes describing the scanner as "just one of many initiatives we've worked on over the past year".

She explained other schemes had included testing laser-marked avocados which eliminates the plastic label from Tesco's loose avocado ranges, plus introducing cardboard and paper packaging throughout all Tesco's avocado pre-packed products.

She noted this contributed to "saving 20 million pieces of plastic a year". The technology is currently being tested across five Tesco outlets.

Scanners are available at Tesco's Cheshunt Extra in Hertfordshire; Colchester Superstore in Essex; Stratford-upon-Avon Superstore in Warwickshire; Wokingham Superstore in Berkshire and Salisbury Extra in Wiltshire.