This Hidden Code on Your Food Means It's Genetically Modified

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Genetically modified foods (GMOs) have been around for two decades, but currently, they’re the subject of intense debate about whether or not they’re good for us and our planet. Labeling isn’t yet mandated, but the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard will require the disclosure of bioengineered foods by 2022. In the meantime, we’re gonna let you in on a trick for figuring out which food at the grocery store has been genetically modified. It comes to us care of David Friedman, ND, doctor of naturopathy, board certified in alternative medicine and integrative medicine, and author of Food Sanity: How to Eat in a World of Fads and Fiction.

The secret

You’ll find a sticker on all grocery store produce, Dr. Friedman tells Reader’s Digest. The sticker is known as a “PLU.” Here’s how to crack its numerical code:

Organic produce has a five-digit code beginning with “9.”

Conventionally grown produce has a four-digit code.

GMO produce begins with “8.”

Unfortunately, with labeling laws in flux, many growers omit the first digit, leaving consumers scratching their heads. But for now, only corn, soybeans, potatoes, squash, papayas, apples, alfalfa, and sugar beets have been approved by the USDA to be genetically modified and are currently being grown, according to the Genetic Literacy Project.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/this-hidden-code-on-your-food-means-its-genetically-modified/ar-BBUNoTE?li=BBnb7Kz

[Faux pas]

1. Great find!

Thanks

[Bradshaw3]

2. Doctor of naturopathy?

"Board certified in alternative medicine"? Is there any peer-reivewed science supporting this supposed intense debate?

[drmeow]

3. Not necessarily

"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."

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/plu-codes-do-not-indicate_b_473088.html

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Officially

https://www.ifpsglobal.com/Identification/PLU-Codes/PLU-codes-Search

…

PLU Codes & Organic items
PLU codes in this database are for conventionally grown fresh produce. To identify an organic item, the prefix of '9' is inserted in front of the 4-digit conventional PLU code.

…

https://www.ifpsglobal.com/Portals/22/IFPS%20Documents/Prefix%208/IFPS%20Prefix%208%20Fresh%20Mag%20article%20Sept%202015.pdf?ver=2015-10-07-204449-613

…

Though the ‘8’ prefix (83000–84999) was once reserved for GMO produce items, the prefix was never used at retail. Stripping the prefix of this par-ticular designation will yield 1,000 additional PLU numbers to be used in future years. This will not in any way impact the current use of the ‘9’ prefix (93000–94999), which will continue to be used to indicate organic produce items.

…