Red Ice News

The Future is the Past

The myth of PLU codes and GMO foods
New to Red Ice? Start Here!

The myth of PLU codes and GMO foods

Source: examiner.com
Do you look for the four or five digit code on your produce to help avoid GMO foods? You’ll find lots of advice online telling you to do just that, but there’s one problem -- it’s pretty much complete nonsense.

Many sites online will tell you to look for this code in order to know what you’re buying. Find a number that starts with a 9, for instance, and the food is organic. Find a number that starts with an 8, and it’s GMO.

While it’s true that fresh produce in supermarkets is labeled with a code to help identify it, this code is meant to help retailers with inventory, pricing and identification. The use of that 8 or 9 is completely optional.

Suppliers can choose to label their produce as organic or GMO. In the case of organics, they will obviously choose to add that extra digit since consumers tend to pay extra and seek out organic produce. In the case of GMO foods, it is incredibly rare for any supplier to add the 8 to the front of the code -- whether the food is GMO or not.

As Jeffrey Smith of the Huffington Post reported:
"Let’s put a rumor to rest. No, the 5-digit PLU codes on produce do not tell you what is genetically modified or natural. This urban legend has circulated long enough, even on the best of websites. It’s time to take it down."

He continues:
"Those that run PLU-universe figured that someday some retailer might want to distinguish between a GMO and a non-GMO for price or inventory purposes. So they created a convention of 5 digits starting with an 8, just in case it catches on. But it hasn’t. No one uses that number 8 as far as we can tell. And why would they? Most Americans say they would avoid GMOs if they were labeled."

I called the International Federation for Produce Standards, which oversees the numeric code system, to verify this. An employee confirmed that suppliers can choose to leave the 8 off. She told me, "You could. It’s a voluntary system. But if you see the 8 then you know it’s a GMO item."

[...]

Read the full article at: examiner.com

Comments

We're Hiring

We are looking for a professional video editor, animator and graphics expert that can join us full time to work on our video productions.

Apply

Help Out

Sign up for a membership to support Red Ice. If you want to help advance our efforts further, please:

Donate

Tips

Send us a news tip or a
Guest suggestion

Send Tip

Related News

Whole Foods Market whistleblower says employees were deliberately trained to lie about GMOs
Whole Foods Market whistleblower says employees were deliberately trained to lie about GMOs
GMO Corn Animal Feed May Make it Hard to Avoid Consuming GMO Genetic Material
GMO Corn Animal Feed May Make it Hard to Avoid Consuming GMO Genetic Material

Archives Pick

Red Ice T-Shirts

Red Ice Radio

3Fourteen

Con Inc., J6 Political Prisoners & The Pedophile Problem
Kim Coulter - Con Inc., J6 Political Prisoners & The Pedophile Problem
Why European Culture, Art and Beauty Matter
Gifts - Why European Culture, Art and Beauty Matter

TV

Laughter: The New Weapon Of The Far-Right
Laughter: The New Weapon Of The Far-Right
London’s Fourth Plinth To Get Fat Black “Everywoman” Statue
London’s Fourth Plinth To Get Fat Black “Everywoman” Statue

RSSYoutubeGoogle+iTunesSoundCloudStitcherTuneIn

Design by Henrik Palmgren © Red Ice Privacy Policy