When you see the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, you likely see stickers on them. It is something that we can use but we don’t typically give it much thought. If you knew what was behind them, you might just be a little bit more cautious about what you actually purchase. The stickers typically have a bar code for scanning, but there is more to them than that.
In fact, if you understand what the sticker is actually saying, it can really open your eyes. Not only does it contain a number to help look up the price, it can let you know how the fruit or vegetable is grown. If you read the code properly, you can even tell if it is genetically modified, organic or if it includes chemical fertilizers or herbicides.
As it turns out, the secret has been hiding in plain sight for many years. Even if you have never heard about this before, you should not wait any longer before you hear about it now. In fact, this is something that you should spread around because everybody should know this.
1. If only four numbers are in the PLU, it means that it was grown conventionally using pesticides. The last four letters of the PLU code are what kind of fruit or vegetable you are buying.
2. If five numbers are in the PLU will code and the number starts with 8, it means it is genetically modified. When a fruit or vegetable has been genetically modified, it has been tampered with in an unnatural way. It was altered in a way that does not exist in nature.
3. If there are five numbers in the PLU code and the number begins with 9, the produce was grown organically and it is not genetically modified.
You might also be interested in knowing that the stickers are not safe to consume but the glue is considered to be foodgrade.
The environmental working group’s home page has lists that help consumers to identify fruits and vegetables that are cleaner and those that have been tampered with. Here are some examples.
The Top 5 for the “Clean Fifteen” produce are:
Avocados
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Cabbage
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
The Top 5 for the “Dirty Dozen” produce are:
Strawberries
Apples
Nectarines
Peaches
Celery
You can learn more about labeling in this video:
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