How to Tell GM Foods by Labels
by HANS staff
Source: Health Action, Fall 2009
An orange is an orange is an orange, right? Not necessarily, according to grocery store PLU (price lookup) codes. These four or five digit numbers, which are assigned to loose and bunched grocery items (e.g., an individual apple or a bunch of parsley), are international designations used for coding-and they're a quick and dirty way to tell whether produce is conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified (GM).
Conventionally grown food (not GM, not organic): 4-digit PLU (e.g., 4011) Organic food: 5 digits starting with a nine (e.g., 94011)
GM food: 5 digits starting with an eight (e.g., 84011)
Source: International Federation for Produce Standards, "Produce PLU: 2006 User's Guide," plucodes.com
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