How To Spot GMOs In Your Produce

First of all, yes, GMOs are dangerous. If you want to read more about this topic, check out my last post about the dangers of GMOs.

Second of all, the government is not holding companies responsible for letting you know that there are GMOs in their products. The FDA does not require genetically modified food to be labeled. That’s because the FDA has decided that you don’t care if the tomato you are eating has been cross bred with frog genes to render the tomato more resistant to cold weather. That leaves it up to you as an educated consumer to figure out which products are safe for you and your family. 

For those of you who take your food and what you put into your body seriously, here is how to determine if the fruits and vegetables you’re buying are (GM) genetically modified. For conventionally grown fruit (grown with chemical inputs), the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8. Example: A conventionally grown banana would be 4011. An organically grown banana would be 94011. A genetically engineered banana would be 84011. Easy enough to figure out, right? Now, who has a trick to help us remember that 9 is good and 8 is bad? I guess you can just remember that any produce with a 9 is good, and anything else is not great.