Happily Unprocessed / THE BASICS / What Do the Labels on Fruit Mean?
Ever wondered about those tiny numerical codes adorning the fruit in your local supermarket? Beyond expediting the checkout process, these labels carry significant information about the fruit’s journey from farm to table.
While applicable to vegetables, herbs, and nuts as well, fruits predominantly bear these labels, offering valuable insights into their cultivation methods.
Unveiling the Meaning Behind Fruit Labels
Fruit labels typically fall into 1of 3 distinct categories:
- Conventional: A four-digit code denotes conventional cultivation. These fruits undergo growth using traditional farming practices, often involving pesticides and chemical fertilizers, potentially affecting soil health.
- Genetically Modified: A five-digit code starting with the number 8 indicates genetic modification. These fruits are engineered to resist pests and may involve pesticide usage during cultivation.
- Organic: A five-digit code commencing with the number 9 signifies organic certification. Organic fruits are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, promoting soil health and environmental sustainability.
Making Informed Choices: Pesticides, Environment, and Local Support
- Pesticides and Health: While conventionally grown fruits may use pesticides, it’s essential to remember that the pesticide residue levels on fruits typically comply with regulatory safety standards. Nevertheless, many individuals choose organic options to minimize potential pesticide exposure, especially if they have concerns about health or specific dietary preferences.
- Environmental Impact: The choice between conventional and organic farming also has environmental implications. Organic farming practices often focus on soil health and sustainability. These methods aim to minimize soil erosion, conserve water, and reduce chemical runoff. Supporting organic farming can be viewed as a way to promote more environmentally friendly agriculture.
- Local Farmers: Buying from local farmers at farmers’ markets or through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs supports your local economy, reduces food miles, and often ensures fresher produce. Local farmers may employ sustainable farming practices, even if they’re not certified organic. Engaging in conversations with local farmers can provide insight into their farming methods.
EMPOWERING CONSUMER CHOICES:
As consumers, advocating for transparent food labeling can empower you to make informed choices. Some organizations and brands go beyond the basic labeling requirements, providing additional information about the fruit’s origin, farming practices, and certifications. Supporting brands that prioritize transparency can be a way to encourage better information sharing within the industry.
By considering these factors, you can make food choices that align with your nutritional needs, environmental values, and support for local agriculture. Understanding the meaning of fruit labels is an essential step in making informed decisions about the food you consume.
So, the next time you pick up a piece of fruit, take a moment to decode that little sticker. It might just reveal more about your food choices than you ever imagined.
If you cannot buy locally, choose NUMBER 9 for Organic.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Gabriella WhiteAre these product digit codes international or UK only?
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- Anonymous
They are international
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- Anonymous
If it makes you feel good just eat organic foods if you don’t believe in those stuff then don’t do it …To each his own…Do your research…its your body…It’s your wellbeing…God bless.
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- Chase Duch
This is great to know. Where are your facts from? I would like to do some further research. Thanks!
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- Julie
Very interesting . I am trying to eat only organic and having some trouble finding as I am locked to only one grocery store that I can walk to .. I would like to be informed and know the truth about foods I eat !
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- lin
their are “food deserts”. Places where large populations do not have access to food or just 1 grocery store. This is not an accident. It is profitable for some grocery stores to cooperate and do this. If you have a cell phone, compare the online grocers that ship directly to your door. Even meat is now shipped overnight. If some of those foods cost less or even the same as the ones you buy now, you could ask neighbors to buy as a group with you and lower the cost of online groceries and the shipping cost. I saw a you tube video and a . tv documentary about scarce food in parts of the U.S. in cities and suburbs. There is also a you tube video showing the rise of growing food on walls outside or inside any building. The traditional window shelves work too. New ways to water and light plants mean you can raise some of your own organic food in a small space to lower food bills. I use transparent shelves to let in light in my window garden. I plant vines on a high shelf and let them hang. I grow the most expensive plants I eat to be thrifty. Good luck
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- Alice-an
I’m feeling really upset. I went to Publix and bought fresh vegetables from the organic section. When I arrived home, I realized that the green and red peppers had a four digit code, beginning with the number 4. I was very disappointed, as I remembered that the number is not organic. Now I have pesticide laden veggies in my kitchen, we can’t trust that store anymore!
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- Gail Becker, MS.Ed., CM
I agree with you. I used to love Publix until I started seeing produce grown from GMO seeds and other foods made from GMO ingredients. Now, I stick with Whole Foods Market where the majority of its foods’ PLU start with the number 9.
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- Anonymous
I agree with you 100%….or the produce rots in one day…also deli board head roast beef was spoiled in 3 days in my refrigerator. It smelled like rotten meat it also happened to the board head turkey breast a few months ago….i dont drive anymore and its the nearest store to where i live…Kingslake store is the worst out of all the Publix’s in my opinion… Publix’s truley is taking advantage of the public especially with there meats ie roast and their deli items plus hardly any cans of tomatoes or tomatoes sauce at Kingslake store…guess we should be thankful we have a store to shop in…..
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- Jade
Soak in baking soda and vinegar for 20 mins and rinse. I do this even with my organic fruit and veggies
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- Jennifer Henderson
That’s great to remove dirt but it does not remove pesticides. Pesticide soaks through the skin or peel into the grit or veg. Genetically modified fruits and veggies, particularly corn, have pesticides built into their genetic material. Whenever possible buy organic: fresh, frozen or canned.
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- Anonymous
Are you serious? Pesticides aren’t “built in to their genetic material”. That’s not what GMO is. Why spread this laughable lie? I’m not for GMO foods, but it’s not because “pesticides are built into their genetic material”, because that’s the farthest thing from what GMO is. Sheesh!
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- Anonymous
Please can you explain what GMO is?
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- Debi
it is a food that has been genetically modified. You can read more here https://ag.purdue.edu/gmos/what-are-gmos.html
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- Anonymous
Lol gmo corn kills it’s own pests built in to the corns genetic make up
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- Anonymous
Peroxide and water is really good too
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- Nimby
I’m sure if you wash them good you won’t die.
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- Estelle
Take them back to Publix and show the various codes. Publix will refund your $ and take down your complaint.
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- Lillian Palos
How can u justify buying Organic if most of the organic produce available in our grocery stores are not the freshest?
- Debi
I’m not sure what your definition of ‘freshest’ is. But regardless organic produce at least won’t have the pesticides, etc on it which is my main point.
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- Anonymous
But you are eventually going to kill 2 billion people if you keep buying organic.
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- To mr Anonymous
Make it make sense! How would organic food kill 2 billion people?? Elaborate or your simply talking out of your you know what…
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- Anonymous
Huh?
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- Anonymous
What about meat? How can we help nourish ourselves with healthy meats? Chicken and beef.
Thanks!Reply
- None ya
You buy from a local farmer where you no what the animals are eating and how they are treated.
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- Abdulhamid ABARI
the reason for the fruit not being the “freshest” is why GMO products are selling (they rely on our fear to feed us junks), organic products can’t be perfect especially because a lot of them deal with natural elements (weather, pest, etc.) and this affects their production
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- nick martin
Despite all the concerns about whether genetically modified food is harmful or harmless, (only time will tell), the point being missed here, is that once all the food we grow and eat is genetically modified, which is what we are slowly moving towards, a very small number of multinational conglomerate corporations, that own the patents, will own all the food in the world……..now that really is scary. We can live without oil, or software, or any number of other things that companies are striving to control, but we cannot live without food. Imagine that power!
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- Mathew Smith
But if we move towards all organic 2 billion people will starve to death. Is that what you want?
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- Debi
What if everyone planted a small organic garden in their backyard or terrace?
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- Common
Thank you! And the government can make a program to pay those willing to start and maintain a thriving one! Even allow people to file taxes off gardening etc.
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- Leemarlene
This already exists.its called homesteading credit,every state has one,and they are all different. and it protects your property.do a little research,you will be surprised what you find.always remember there are families still doing this they are the amish,and mennonite.look into it .
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- Anonymous
That’s where I’m headed.
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- Joy
That would be ideal. I garden and grow part of what I eat. I know how it was raised and that it has no chemicals.
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- Kim Gray
You cannot live without oil. Oil is used in 87% of the things you use every day. Every single plastic item, wind generators, paint, fuels including to move your “food”, toothbrushes, clothing material, construction material. Don’t kid yourself. We lose oil, we lose it all.
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- CJ
While this information might have been true at one time (maybe…) it’s not really valid anymore. Many products have 5-digit numbers that are neither organic nor GMO crops. Often the organic code will be only 1 number off the conventionally-grown number these days, and often don’t start with a 9 even if they are organic in the description. For that reason, I rely more on the description over the code if I need to select organic produce, or look for the distinctive packaging (for example, organic bananas come bundled and banded together where regular bananas are just loose bunches, for example).
To reply to Anonymous above, I don’t think you understand the difference between traditional husbandry and modern genetic manipulation. We have practiced husbandry for countless generations, since the dawn of agriculture some 10,000 years ago, by purposely cross-breeding closely related species to get the desired traits. Is it genetic manipulation? Yes, but the key is that we always bred closely-related species, or specific representatives of a species, over the course of successive generations. We could cross-breed two types of grasses to create a new grain, for example, but we couldn’t cross-breed a grass with an apple. Modern genetic manipulation does that just – it creates new species not over successive generations of closely-related species until the desired traits are obtained, but actually inserts, deletes or otherwise manipulates the genes of a species sometimes introducing genes from an unrelated species that could not otherwise cross-breed with the original genome. Additionally, modern genetic manipulation generally changes the species at a fundamental level to make it resistant to chemicals that would otherwise be harmful (therefore encouraging the use of those chemicals), or in some instances makes it pest-resistant by simply making it poisonous to the pest, often with unknown effects. That’s concerning on many levels.
As for GMO’s “feeding the world” studies have shown that the number one factor in the increase of yields is actually mechanization, not genetic manipulation. Here is the west we are very fortunate that we have access to a wide variety of mechanization processes that dramatic increase the amount of food that can grown per hectare and reduces the manpower needed to cultivate that land. Mechanization also helps make marginal agricultural land and makes it more readily workable. In most impoverish countries, this mechanization is lacking, relying instead primarily on manual or animal labour. That’s the actual reason why many countries can’t feed themselves, and it could be solved with investments in technology and basic machines that we take for granted. Additionally, because GMO seeds are patented, it further indentures the farmer to the companies that produce these seeds, and restricts their ability to be self-sufficient.
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- JP Sivori
CJ – i agree with your explanation the issues of GMO vs historical hybridisation. I didn’t know about the important role mechanisation plays in agricultural yields vs chemical enhancers.
One point to make is that although selective breeding and even the Green Revolution of the 20th century are key factors in the steady eradication of diseases associated with food scarcity (rickets, scurvey etc), agriculture arrived very late in human history. 10,000 even 15,000 years is not enough time for our bodies to adapt to ingesting large amounts of processed grains (bread) and a reduction in the variety of food we have consumed since the dawn of the agrarian era. The human body underwent the bulk of its evolution during the hunter-gatherer phase of our time on earth. Our bodies are built to process whole foods, mainly plants and crucially not a lot of them. Indeed the human body is built for famine. The trouble is less the chemicals on the stuff we eat than the stuff itself and the amount of it we consume.Reply
- Mi
Totally agree. People should read this with open mind.
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- alice
That is really interesting! I have to pay more attention when I buy fruit. I don’t want any Frankenfruit!
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- Anonymous
Thank you for this information! I never knew the codes on the fruit had these handy codes, now I can make better choices on my food. I understand your concern about GMO’s, and that’s the right attitude, but humans have been genetically modifying food since before civilization arose. Lemons, all grains, and most fruits aren’t natural. Humans selected the best strains (biggest & juiciest fruits) and replanted and crossed strains to beat bugs and harsh weather. When we make GMO’s we are taking the genes from plants that have natural resistance to these harsh environments or natural plant defenses (like thorns on a rose) and use those plant genes to other plants. GMO’s are actually the cure for world hunger! If we didn’t have GMO’s we wouldn’t have enough food to feed the planet. Most of us are wealthy (relatively, on a global scale) enough to afford to choose organic products (which have significantly lower crop yields) at a higher cost than others. The first step is awareness and pesticide use should me more transparent.
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- Anonymous
but notmade with deadly poison like roundup weed killer back then for f sake
People only see what they choose to see,…your theory SOUNDS GOOD,..but it’s lacking TRUTH DETAILS.Reply
