Know Your Fruit Labels

These days, fruits come with a sticker. I've never paid any attention to the sticker but from now on, I will. Did you know that the code on the sticker has a significance?

Conventional Fruit Labels
- A four-digit code that starts with the number 4

Organic Fruit Labels
- A five-digit code that starts with number 9

Genetically Modified Fruits
- A code that starts with the digit 8


What this means is that, an apple in the store with a label that reads 4922 is a conventional apple grown with herbicides and harmful fertilizers. This is the regular common produce. If it has a sticker that reads 99222, it's organic. If it says 89222, then it means it has been genetically modified or engineered.

So the next time you go shopping, keep this information in mind.


Additional information:

In his comment, Doc asked for the source of information. Unfortunately, I did not have any as it is from a forwarded email and people are not in the habit of quoting sources. However, a Google-search brought me to the website of International Federation of Produce Standards. The codes on these labels are called Price-Look Up (PLU) codes and they are for fresh fruits and vegetables sold in random-weight/bulk in produce departments. This is universal apparently. You can find the info on PLUs on PLU Codes User's Guide, page 17. However, code #4 is not mentioned. There must be another source.