Bees:Can you hear them now?

A report published in the UK's The Independent asks "Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?" The UK's Sun's headline writer labeled that paper's story "Mobiles kills millions of bees."

From the Independent:

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.
They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.
The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.
The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.
CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.
Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."
The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".
No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.
German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.
Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause.
Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I am convinced the possibility is real."


TK: We can't bank this theory based on two stories in the British tabloids, but it does raise questions. Add colony collapse as one more strike against mobile phones: distracted drivers, brain tumors, lower sperm count, and as the article points out, "text thumb," a form of repetitive stress injury. I liked the reference to abandoned hives appearing "like so many apian Mary Celestes," The Mary Celeste was a ghost ship found in 1872 off the coast of Portugal.

Why not lasers?

Laser labels on produce does not seem a topic that could spark controversy. If anything, labeling seems to be an aesthetic judgement - which do you prefer, an adhesive label or laser art on your produce?

David Mitchell of The Packer had this coverage from October of last year:

Widnes, England-based DataLase Ltd. plans to introduce a system next year that can apply use-by dates, country-of-origin information and Price Look-Up numbers to citrus without adhesive labels.
"Consumers don't like stickers," said Kevin Murray, vice president and general manager of Atlanta-based DataLase Inc., the company's North American operation. "They're hard to peel off and damage fruit."
In DataLase's FoodMark program, a clear, edible spray is applied to the fruit. A low-power laser then marks the desired part of that coating, and the information appears as the marked coating changes from clear to dark.
"The laser is just used for the color change," Murray said. "There's no damage to the fruit."


Now, this AP story notes that that the FDA is considering a petition from a company seeking to provide systems for laser labels. :

The days of peeling pesky stickers off apples and tomatoes may soon be over. A Georgia company is seeking federal approval for a laser that etches indelible but edible labels onto the skins of fruits and vegetables.The laser device could tag onions, cucumbers, kiwis, pears - all manner of produce - according to Durand-Wayland Inc. The company wants federal regulations amended to allow it, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

The etched logos would be an alternative to the stickers that now mark most fruits and vegetables sold in the United States, though it's not clear they'd be to consumers' liking. The stickers most commonly bear a standard code, called a produce look-up or PLU code, used to ring up fruits and vegetables at the register. They also can include brand names, logos and country of origin information.


Note the AP found a consumer that doesn't like the idea, though who knows how the AP found this consumer spokesman. It could be a neighbor or friend, or someone standing in line at Winn Dixie.

"I don't like it. I don't want my fruit lasered. I'll take a sticker over a laser. The less tampering with fruit, the better," said consumer Ellen Hamilton, 41, of Alexandria, Va., when told about the technology.

Durand-Wayland, a LaGrange, Ga., manufacturer of spraying, packing and labeling machinery, wanted to start selling the $38,000 lasers two years ago, but the FDA told it to hold off until it could show they were safe. Any source of radiation, including the light of a laser, used to treat or process food is considered a food additive.Durand-Wayland President Fred Durand III said they delivered the agency a three-inch-thick petition with the results of tests that show the technology is safe. The FDA has 180 days to review the findings, filed March 5.The FDA designated it for expedited review since the technology could improve the agency's ability to track and trace produce in an outbreak of foodborne disease, said Andy Zajac, who oversees petition review in the FDA's office of food additive safety.


Some FDA thoughts on traceback:

The difficulty of tracing tainted produce back to its source has hampered investigations of past outbreaks, including salmonella linked to tomatoes.Still, the regulatory agency worries the etching could allow germs to penetrate treated produce - a concern noted by the largest manufacturer of stickers used to mark fruit. The FDA also wants to know whether the laser affects the fruit or vegetable, including how it compares to cooking. Tests results submitted by the company are now under FDA review.

Some industry reaction from PMA:

A spokeswoman for the Produce Marketing Association called the technology intriguing."The industry is always looking for the best - whatever will make things better and easier," said Kathy Means, a spokeswoman for the industry group, who said it should go ahead if there are no safety concerns.The association estimates 60 percent of the most commonly sold fruits and vegetables are already labeled for origin, either by country or region, typically with stickers or tags. Such labeling is voluntary now. The 2002 Farm Act made country-of-origin labeling mandatory for seafood, meat and produce, but the requirement is on hold until September 2008 for the latter two foods.Southern Oregon Sales, a Medford, Ore., grower cooperative, used the Durand-Wayland laser etcher on a trial basis last year, tagging between 2,000 and 3,000 cases of fruit. Sales manager Dave Bryan said he figures the machine could pay for itself in five years, all while eliminating consumer sticker frustration and improving produce safety."The sticker can always be removed, whereas this is etched on the piece of fruit. So you can go back to the shipper, the packer and the field," Bryan said. "From a food safety standpoint, it's huge. That's one of the biggest selling points."

More information on stickers could keep them market leaders, Sinclair says:

Sinclair Systems International LLC has watched the technology, but is sticking to stickers. Fran Garcia, the Fresno, Calif., company's vice president of global sales and marketing, said advanced bar code technology, like the DataBar that packs more information into a smaller space, will keep demand for stickers high.


TK: Consumers weren't crazy about stickers on produce in the beginning and now most don't give it a second thought. Having another label option with lasers - with potential benefits of traceback - is a slam dunk.