LONDON -- Gone are the days when avocados were bought whole in their own natural packaging. Marks and Spencer has just launched pre-sliced avocado for people who are just too lazy to use a knife. 

While the pre-sliced avocado -- which comes in 80 gram plastic pots priced at £1.50 ($2.16) -- has been commended by some on social media for its convenience; others aren't too pleased about the added packaging.

"Absolute disgrace! Thought you were environmentally aware! More landfill packaging," read one tweet. 

"Put it in plastic and sell it for twice as much," read another.

According to an M&S spokesperson, the avocado pots are packaged in a similar way to other pre-prepared salads and meats, where "the atmosphere inside the packaging is adjusted to help extend freshness, and therefore prevent any browning", 

“Customers love an avocado – but they’re sometimes not the easiest to prepare," M&S Product Developer Erica Molyneaux said in a statement. 

"So we’ve done the messy bit for them and created a ready sliced, fully ripened option, perfect for adding to sandwiches, salads or as a simple healthy snack."

M&S' pre-prepared avocado isn't the first pre-prepared product to hit shelves lately. In March, the appearance of pre-peeled oranges in Whole Foods caused mass outrage on social media for the unnecessary use of plastic packaging, prompting the store to remove the product. However, the move was criticised by people with arthritis who found the pre-peeled product useful. 

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.