Gwen is owner of Nayla Natural Care, an online store where you can find the best in natural, organic and eco-friendly products for you and your family. For more eco-friendly articles, healthy recipes, and product news, check out the Nayla Natural Care Blog.
Those little stickers you find on your fruits and vegetables have a lot of meaning behind them. The numbers you see are called Price Lookup (PLU) Codes and are much more than a code meant for store employees…but do you know what they mean?
Pay attention and you will notice that each sticker contains a 4-5 digit numeric code. These codes tell us if the produce was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified. This coding system is upheld by the International Federation for Produce Standards and it is used in Canada, the US and many other countries. All countries exporting to Canada and the US use this system.
If the code has 4 digits – This means that your fruit or vegetable was grown conventionally. Conventionally means that it was grown on a regular farm and chemical pesticides/fertilizers were used.
If the code has 5 digits and starts with the number 9 – This means that the produce was grown organically and that no chemical based sprays or pesticides were used. If sprays/pesticides were used, they are of natural origin and are not harmful to us. In most cases, the produce was grown on a smaller farm.
If the code has 5 digits and starts with the number 8 – This means that the produce is a GMO (Genetically Modified Organism). What does that mean? GMO’s are organisms that have had their genetic material altered using genetic engineering (many people refer to this type of altered food as “frankenfood”). Kinda scary sounding huh? So why genetically alter a fruit or vegetable? Scientists say that by doing this they can create produce that is more nutritious, that is is drought resistant and more. The trouble with GMO foods is that they have the potential to harm us and the environment and the full effects of eating them on a regular basis are not fully known. Preliminary results show that they can cause allergic reactions and worse. When it comes to deciding whether to buy or not to buy GMO produce, it is best to steer clear whenever possible.
Click to learn more about GMO Foods.
And don’t forget before heading out to the grocery store, we carry to bring your Organic Re-Useable Produce Bags with you!
