Although they seem like a nuisance, the stickers or labels attached to fruit
and some vegetables have more of a function than helping scan the price at the
checkout stand. The PLU code, or price look up number printed on the sticker,
also tells you how the fruit was grown. By reading the PLU code, you can tell if
the fruit was genetically modified, organically grown or produced with chemical
fertilizers, fungicides, or herbicides. Here are the basics of what you should know:
If there are only four numbers in the PLU, this means that the
produce was grown conventionally or “traditionally” with the use of
pesticides. The last four letters of the PLU code are simply what kind
of vegetable or fruit. An example is that all bananas are labeled with the code
of 4011.
If there are five numbers in the PLU code, and the number starts
with “8″, this tells you that the item is a genetically modified fruit or
vegetable. Genetically modified fruits and vegetables trump being
organic. So, it is impossible to eat organic produce that are grown from
genetically modified seeds. A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would
be: 84011
If there are five numbers in the PLU code, and the number starts
with “9″, this tells you that the produce was grown organically and is not
genetically modified. An organic banana would be:
94011
What Do Those Codes On Stickers Of Fruits And Some Veggies Mean?
Frank Lipman
Although they seem like a nuisance, the stickers or labels attached to fruit and some vegetables have more of a function than helping scan the price at the checkout stand. The PLU code, or price look up number printed on the sticker, also tells you how the fruit was grown. By reading the PLU code, you can tell if the fruit was genetically modified, organically grown or produced with chemical fertilizers, fungicides, or herbicides.
Here are the basics of what you should know: