There are still many local grocery stores that don’t have dedicated organic sections. Their food buyers go to the food terminal in their city and buy whatever they consider to meet their price & quality standards. For example, there is a store not far from my house that sometimes has organic cauliflower, but it’s never sold as such — as far as they are concerned, it’s just plain old cauliflower & it’s priced accordingly — way lower than cauliflower from stores that specialize in organic produce or have dedicated organic produce sections. Why? Because the owners of this store know that they can’t take a greater margin on the produce because their clientele won’t be willing to pay. Knowing how to identify organically grown produce by the labels found on fruits and vegetables can save you a lot. What you are looking for is the Price-Look Up (PLU) code found on most fruits and vegetables sold through traditional grocery stores.
Organically grown produce is identified by placing the digit “9″ in front of the standard 4 digit PLU code. For example, an organically grown standard yellow banana will have PLU code 94011.1 Here’s a code you most definitely want to avoid: genetically engineered produce will have the digit “8″ placed in front of the standard 4 digit PLU code. For example, an genetically engineered “standard” yellow banana will have PLU code 84011.2
Not only can knowing about how to identify organic produce using PLU codes save you a little money on groceries from time to time, you can protect yourself from someone selling you traditionally grown produce but claiming it’s organic. This of course doesn’t apply to produce you may buy from farmer’s markets where the produce is not labeled with PLU coded labels.
Summary
- Organically grown produce labeled with a PLU code will be five digits long beginning with the digit 9. Think to yourself: “If it doesn’t start with 9, then NEIN!”
- Genetically engineered produce labeled with a PLU code will be five digits long beginning with the digit 8.
- Currently produce grown using “conventional” farming practices that may use pesticide & herbicide poisons along with chemical fertilizers have a four digit PLU code falls within the range 3000 to 4000.3
For more information on Price-Look Up codes, please visit the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS) website.
References
- IFPS:: FAQs “How do I code organically grown produce with a PLU code?” http://www.plucodes.com/faqs.aspx Accessed February 15, 2010.
- IFPS:: FAQs “How do I code genetically engineered produce with a PLU code?” http://www.plucodes.com/faqs.aspx Accessed February 15, 2010.
- IFPS:: FAQs “What ranges do PLU codes fall within??” http://www.plucodes.com/faqs.aspx Accessed February 15, 2010.
Thanks Marcus! This is great info. I always thought that organic produce was sold at a premium.
Hi, Tony!
Thank you for your comment. To be fair, the majority of organic produce is grown on progressive, but small farms. So these growers don’t benefit from the same economies of scale that large farms do — this is one big reason organic produce is more expensive than regular produce. Also, there are costs associated with getting organic certifications of various sorts.
That said, I’d like to get a better handle on how much of a premium is being charged for organic produce.
Wishing Everyone health & happiness!
Your friend,
M.E.B.
Hi, Everyone!
I wrote above that you want to totally avoid all genetically engineered produce (produce starting with PLU digit 8. All things considered, genetically engineered produce poses a worse health risk to you than some non-organic produce. I came across an article that explains why you should avoid genetically engineered plant foods (with references!) that you may find interesting.
Wishing Everyone a long healthy life!
Your friend,
M.E.B.
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