Robin delivered a Pug sweatshirt to Chef Maggie Kiefer at Life’s Kitchen today and we just had to stay for lunch! We also talked to chef Chris Henderson – both Chef’s we have known in previous lives – and it was interesting that Chef Chris said that there will be a Life’s Kitchen Food Truck possibly at the next Food Truck Rally Boise. I hope so.
Then also, Robin found this article on Facebook on how to read the PLU food codes on most vegetables. Below is a short discussion on those codes. Are you eating organic, genetically modified or standard grown vegetables and fruits? But first, look at the meal we had for lunch at Life’s Kitchen. Cheers!

And here is the information on the PLU codes on the stickers of most fruits and vegetables. Please note that it is not required by law that these codes be included with all products. From Snopes we learn that

Those stickers on fruits and vegetables tell you quite a bit! 4 numbers mean that they were conventionally grown. 5 numbers starting with the number 8 means they are genetically modified (GMO). And 5 numbers starting with the number 9 means they are organically grown.

If you know the PLU code, or the category of the produce you want to purchase, you can find out more specific information about the product at PLU Codes.

And from Organic Foods, we see that

In grocery stores, produce that is sold in bulk has a Price Look Up Code (PLU). The PLU code is determined by the International Federation for Produce Standards http://www.plucodes.com. The produce can have either a 4 or 5 digit code printed on a sticker that is applied directly to the produce. The PLU stickers are used to make checkout easier and more efficient for the grocery store cashier. Once you know a few basics about PLU codes they are a breeze to read and you can double check the produce you choose to make sure that it is what you really want.
PLU Numbers on Produce Stickers:

Organic produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 9.
Conventional produce has a 4 digit PLU number that begins with the number 4.
Genetically modified (GMO) produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 8.

Initially in 1992 when the bio tech companies thought that we would all want to eat their altered food they wanted to have a new “code” so that we could all see which food was the altered and would buy it up- ya right! So they adopted the number 8 to appear in front of their products. Quickly the industry learned that not only do we NOT want the GMO foods we will purposely not purchase foods that have been altered they no longer use the number “8” as part of the code. The only GMO product that still used the “8” code is Hawaiian papaya.

The only foods that you can be sure are not GMO foods are labeled “Certified Organic”. Organic producers must follow strict rules to be able to label their products as organic. Interesting or disturbingly enough the companies producing the GMO (chemically altered foods) do not have labeling restrictions- Crazy! Anything else is fair game unfortunately- pay special attention to products that have corn, cotton seed or soy they may have GMO origins.

President Obama has stated that he supports mandatory labeling of GMO foods.

I think this is some really interesting information. I hope you enjoy and use the information. Thanks, Robin, for bringing it to my attention. Cheers!