Is that tomato’s blush real? It could be the LED lighting
By JUSTINE GRIFFIN
Sun Sentinel- May 5, 2012
Click here to view the full article online.
Ever notice how rosy the tomatoes look at the grocery store, but not necessarily when you get them home? Chalk it up to “good” lighting.
Super markets across South Florida are switching from fluorescent to LED lighting, energy-efficient bulbs that save money and also make items underneath it look more vivid.
“With just a little bit of energy, LED lights can make something look like it’s a totally different color,” said Mark Rea, director for the Lighting Research Center in Troy, N.Y. “The changes can be very profound, which can be startling for people.”
Many chains that sell food in South Florida have made or are in the process of switching to LED lights. None said they made the switch to make food look more attractive, only to save money.
“Energy savings was the big driver for The Fresh Market, as well as the reduction in heat generated by these lights,” said Paul Poole, corporate energy manager for The Fresh Market. The chain began installing LED lights three years ago.
All new Publix stores are built with LED lights in food cases, said Kimberly Reynolds, spokeswoman for the Lakeland-based grocer. Older stores are being retrofitted.
Winn-Dixie stores began adding LED lights to stores’ frozen food, dairy and produce cases more than four years ago, said company spokeswoman, Mayra Hernandez. About one-third of all Winn-Dixie stores have LED lights inside.
Target, Walmart and Whole Foods Market also use LED lights in food cases.
Why LED lights makes food more appealing has to do with the color of the light, explained James Bedell, a lighting designer who has worked with retailers and theater productions in New York City.
“LED is usually warmer than fluorescent so there will be more of a warm tone for something like produce,” he said.
Retailers can buy LED lights that throw a cooler or bluer light, for say the freezer case, and warmer, rosier tones for the produce department, said Susan Fowler, product marketing manager for GE Lighting.
“We’re making the products look the best they possibly can,” Fowler said.
The Food and Drug Administration has standards that say food and color additives, or lights may not be used to misrepresent the true appearance or quality of the food,” said Patricia El-Hinnawy, spokeswoman for the FDA.
These are enforced by state and local officials, and so far are no state regulations for lighting, said Sterling Ivey, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.
“Different types of light can alter the appearance of the product, but it generally doesn’t affect the safety of it,” Ivey said.
For shoppers who want to know what their products may look like at home, Rea encourages inspecting produce away from lit cases.
“Try to find an area in the store that’s lit with natural light,” he said. “Maybe a skylight or window.” Shopper Kelly Coulson, of Boca Raton, sees the lighting as just another tool stores use.
“I think with any product there is a layer of ‘pretty packaging’ that’s purposefully designed to catch the consumer’s eye,” she said. “These lights are just an additional layer of the lonely tomato’s pretty packaging.”
Justine Griffin. “Is that tomato’s blush real? It could be the LED lighting” Sun Sentinel. 5 May, 2012. 15 May, 2012 <http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-05-05/business/fl-led-grocery-lighting-20120504_1_mark-rea-lighting-research-center- winn-dixie-stores>.