These small, sticky stickers have various numerical codes on them. Usually 4 or 5 digit codes actually tell us important information about how fruits and vegetables are produced.
These labels, which are usually found on fruits such as banana, kiwi, pineapple, orange, apple, pear, have a number system called PLU. These are placed by the stores themselves but are produced by the International Manufacturing Standards Federation (IFPS).
First, let’s talk about whether it is dangerous to accidentally eat the materials from which these stickers are made.
PLU labels are made from plastic, paper and even vinyl (an organic compound that falls under the PVC category). The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) considers the adhesive on labels to be a food grade additive. According to FDA reports, the stickers are inedible but digestible.
While these adhesives are FDA-approved, they contain various chemicals that are not at all good for the human body, such as rubber chlorides and various types of polymers. Therefore, it is recommended not to eat. You should wash the fruit or vegetable thoroughly before eating it.
So what are these labels trying to tell us?
On the label, there is the name of the manufacturer, the barcode on which the product price is coded and the PLU code indicating which product it is. Most importantly, this code also contains information about how the product you bought was grown.
What we mean by how he was brought up is this; In addition to telling whether the product is GMO or organic, it is also explained whether pesticides were used during cultivation.
Which code refers to which upbringing?
The 4-digit code indicates that the fruit or vegetable has been grown using conventional methods, using synthetic fertilizers, and contains pesticides. Most of the time it is not harmful as pesticide levels are very low. Washing the product properly helps remove residue as well as bacteria and germs.
These are the best-selling fruits and vegetables. The codes on them start with 3 or 4. For example, 4011 is written in the codes of all bananas.
Fruits or vegetables that have a 5-digit code starting with 8 on the label are GMO, that is, they have been genetically modified.
Genetic structure of the product; It is modified for reasons such as making it resistant to disease, increasing its size, or changing its nutrient content.
The code for the standard yellow banana – as we mentioned above – is 4011, while the code for the genetically modified banana is 84011.
If there are 5 numbers starting with 9 in the code, that product is organic.
Organic produce usually costs slightly more than conventionally grown produce. It is grown without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers and is not genetically modified.
It is not mandatory to use the PLU system, vendors who want to use it.
Sources: Live. learn. love. Eat., Times Food, Wonder How To
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