How to Read a Produce Label
Organic, Genetically Altered, or Conventionally Grown?
Most of us meander though the produce aisle in search of fresh ripe produce, assuming that it's all good for us. We choose our fruits and vegetables buy the cost or the appearance. Often, seasonal produce is attractively displayed just inside the store. It looks bright and fresh, and is on sale. Most of us have no idea how to choose our produce wisely. We browse around the table and take a few of these and a couple of those. We glance at the price posted nearby, and we select the best looking pieces. We squeeze and smell. At the checkout counter, the produce is rung up by the piece or by the pound. We carry it home, rinse it off and place it in the refrigerator or the fruit basket.
When we grab the produce to eat, we remove that annoying little sticker and enjoy the fresh delicious flavor. What was on that annoying little sticker anyway? Doesn't it just identify whether the produce is an apple or an orange ... Cortland or Macintosh? Maybe it's just there so the cashier knows how much it costs.
Not so. The next time you buy produce, look carefully at the label to find out some valuable information. The bar code on that sticker is for price identification. The labels on fruits and vegetables will also have a 4 or 5 digit code. If your produce has 4 digits, it means that it was "conventionally grown, but not organic". If it has 5 digits, and begins with a 9, it means that the produce was organically grown. A 5 digit code that begins with an 8 indicates that the produce was genetically modified.
For example, if an apple has the code "6584", the apple would have been grown from unaltered seed with the possible use of fertilizers and pesticides. Another apple with a code reading "96584" would have been grown organically. An apple with "86584" would be genetically altered.
As consumers, it's important for us to know what's on a label and how to read it. Commit this simple information to memory, and look for the annoying little stickers on your fruits and vegetables. Reading the label empowers you to make smart decisions.
Published by Pam Freer
Pam considers herself to be a free spirit, prefering to march to a different drummer. She can often be found scrounging around thrift stores and yard sales. She also has a love for animals (thus a vegetari... View profile
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Five digits beginnng with a 9 means your produce was organically grown.
A code with 5 digits beginning with an 8 indicates that the produce was genetically altered.
2 Comments
Post a Commentproduce labels can be very confusing to read. I only want my family to have the best. I try to only by organic but even then its hard to be sure what you are getting. Just do you research and find out what works best for you.
I have also seen some produce labels that begin with a "3". What does this mean?