Is It GMO, Stickers on Loose Fruits/Veggies Tell All?

[Guest guest]

Hi folks,

It would be good to learn this quick info in order to buy healthy food!

 

Sharon Pattison

 

-

The Label Reveals What the FDA Won't

 

 

An article in the June 26 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer Food

section explains what the codes on those individual pieces of produce

really

mean. This is actually *quite* significant because the GMO industry,

despite

consumer pressure (and the law in Europe) has refused to label

GMO/non-GMO

food in the US. So, while there may not be any grocery store label, if

you

can read the individual stickers, you can find out *exactly* what kind of

produce you are buying!

 

 

Sticky But Useful Fruit Labels

 

As much as we may dislike them, the stickers or labels attached to fruit

speed up the scanning process at checkout. Cashiers no longer need to

distinguish a Fuji apple from a Gala apple, a prickly pear from a horned

melon, or a grapefruit. They simply key in the PLU code -- the price

lookup number printed on the sticker -- and the market's computerized

cash

register identifies the fruit by its PLU. The numbers also enable

retailers

to track how well individual varieties are selling. For conventionally

grown

fruit, the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers.

 

Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9.

 

*Genetically engineered fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the

number 8.*

 

So, a conventionally grown banana would be 4011, an organic banana would

be 94011, and a genetically engineered banana would be 84011.

 

The numeric system was developed by the Produce Electronic

Identification Board, an affiliate of the Produce Marketing Association,

a

Newark, Del.-based trade group for the produce industry. As of October

2001, the

board had assigned more than 1,200 PLUs for individual produce items.

 

You can read the full article at:

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/food/3547139.htm