You know they’re a pain to scrape off your food when you’re preparing dinner but what are those guys on there anyway?

Well the PLU codes are there for a reason, it’s one of the ways we track food in the US and can be helpful when there is an occasional outbreak of food-borne illness.

Here’s what they mean.

The last 4 digits of the code label the food for what it is. For instance, a banana is 4011. If the fruit or vegetable only has 4 digits on it that means it’s grown using traditional methods, i.e., pesticides.

If the PLU is 5 digits and the first digit is an 8 that means you’re eating a genetically modified organism or GMO. Genetically modified foods are considered more important to label than organic foods, so you could be eating a GMO product that was developed organically. (i.e., a GMO apple strain that was used without pesticides).

If the PLU is 5 digits and the first digit is a 9 then you are eating organic. This product was grown using organic methods and is not genetically modified. This is the one to go for!

For a while after I learned this I kept getting confused between the 8 and the 9 when I was standing in the grocery store so here’s a little tip. Nine is organic, or “nine is divine.”

Hope you enjoyed this, I’d love your comments, for more info, go here.

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