The lack of decay associated with inoculated etched areas also confirmed that laser
labeling does not facilitate decay. Whether coated with pathogen spores before laser labeling or a
layer of spores spread over the freshly etched areas, no fruit decay from the labeled area was
noticed in all the four selected commodities. This further corroborates the previous findings of
Yuk et al (2007) who challenged tomato fruit with Salmonella and found that laser labeling does
not cause sufficient damage to allow Salmonella infiltration. It can be assumed that, with time,
the accumulation of lignin and wax deposits in and around etched areas also provides a repellant
shield and prevents the penetration of decay organism through etched openings. Various studies
have shown previously that the deposition of lignin and other cell wall components in the wound
tissue provides resistance to the diseases. The fungal development was found to be arrested by
phenolic compounds and callose deposits in the cell walls of young tomato fruit inoculated with
Botrytis cinerea (Glazener, 1982).