What do Price Look UP (PLU) codes tell you?
There has been a rumor circulating for years that the number on the PLU code for produce can signify whether the item is genetically modified, or not. Supposedly, if the 5-digit number begins with ‘8’ it is GMO. Not so. The 5 digit code beginning with ‘8’ was never used to designate GMO produce.
The International Federation for Produce Standards acknowledges that they have plans to use the 83000 and 84000 series of PLU codes in the future, but that they will have “no significance."
PLU codes, in case you are wondering, are the little bar-coded stickers on produce that “ring up” the right price (hopefully) at the cash register in the grocery store. The 4-digit codes are for conventionally grown produce; 5-digit codes beginning with ‘9’ are used to identify organic produce.
PLU codes were created for the benefit of retailers – not consumers. It is a voluntary system, and not regulated by any governmental agency. Thus, you see loose, unlabeled produce in the stores. The 4-digit PLU codes are assigned randomly within the 3000 and 4000 series.
BOLO alert: Be on the Lookout for these potatoes
The first generation of genetically modified potatoes created by J.R. Simplot Company were marketed as “White Russets.”
Doug Cole, the company's director of marketing and communications, said about 400 acres worth sold out last summer in grocery stores in 10 states in the Midwest and Southeast. The company plans to market about 2,000 acres of potatoes next summer.
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