How to read the grocery store fruit and vegetable stickers? Meaning decoded

Have you ever wondered what the stickers on the fruits and vegetables are for? It can be annoying to peel them off every time you want to eat an apple or a banana. You may have peeled them off in haste without even giving the sticker a proper look. These stickers are also known as PLU (Price-Look-Up) codes.

What if we told you that you can tell a lot about a fruit or a vegetable simply by reading what is on the tiny sticker? You can determine if the produce you have in your hands is organic, conventionally grown, or genetically modified.

Keep reading to learn more about these stickers and how to know what kind of fruit or vegetable you are consuming.

---

What are PLU codes/stickers? Who started them?

The PLU stickers or codes were introduced by the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS), which is an organization of national produce associations all around the world. The PLU system was introduced and developed by the IFPS in 1990.

The purpose of the PLU codes is to help retailers sort out the produce into organic, GMO, or conventionally grown categories. Usually, the codes range between 3000 and 4999. In case the range has been used up, the IFPS will start using codes ranging between 83000 and 84000. As of now, there are 1500 PLU codes that are in use. In addition to the PLU codes, you can also find barcodes on these stickers.

---

How to decode PLU codes/stickers?

Decoding PLU codes is not as you think. There may be 1500 PLU codes in use but all you need to remember is the number of codes on the sticker and the number it is starting with.

If you see a PLU sticker with four numbers, you can assume that the produce is conventionally grown. This means that the produce was grown with the help of pesticides, fertilizers, and other products. Another way you can tell if the product is conventionally grown is if the PLU sticker starts with a '3' or '4'.

An organic product tends to have 5 numbers on the PLU sticker. This is in accordance with the IFPS guidelines. You can also tell if the sticker starts with the number '9'. But these numbers do not always mean the produce is officially certified. In the US, the USDA is in charge of that.

Lastly, if you want to know if a product is GMO, some companies use a PLU code starting with the number '8'. However, this code was not made mandatory by the IFPS. There may be regional differences in the usage of codes, so keep that in mind as well.

---

You may not have paid attention to the tiny stickers on your fruits and vegetables before, but since you know what they mean now, you may find yourself trying to decipher what kind of groceries you have in your hands. Remember, '3' and '4' are conventionally grown, '9' means organic, and '8' are GMOs.