Actually, that would be damnably useful in an industrial food processing setting, and they seem to have jumped the one hurdle laser food cutters have been unable to surmount (namely, finding a laser that doesn't sear the edges of the food being sliced). I predict these guys will quietly become extremely wealthy very soon, if they've patented the lasers they're using.

You know, if this laser can also cut other foods while imparting negligable amounts of heat into them, we may be looking at the biggest revolution in the food service industry since the invention of plastic wrap. Automated knives are a mainstay of the food service industry; nearly all non-liquid foods need to be sliced in some way or another, just to separate one package's worth from another. Safety standards require that these knives be cleaned regularly, since they are in constant contact with food, and they also need regular sharpening and replacement.

An industrial food-cutting laser would need lots of power, but almost no cleaning or maintenance. It doesn't come into physical contact with the food, so only the outside lens of the focusing apparatus would need cleaning, and that only rarely. If the cost/benefit ratio is good enough, we might see mechanical food cutters replaced almost entirely within the next decade.

And heck, wouldn't it be great to be able to buy a laser cuisnart? "No more messy blades to clean! Potatoes go in, potato chips come out!"