Man reveals SHOCKING TRUTH behind the codes found in the stickers attached to the skin of fresh produce — “These stickers actually tell you a lot"
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Man reveals SHOCKING TRUTH behind the codes found in the stickers attached to the skin of fresh produce — “These stickers actually tell you a lot”
Let's be honest, we often ignore the stickers found on the peels of the fruit or veggies that we purchased from the supermarket.
Oftentimes, we just peel it off and throw it in the bin.
But, did you know that these markings can actually tell you a lot about your produce?
Sharing the shocking revelation on TikTok, 25-year-old user Joshua Bollom, said that consumers should think twice before throwing away the labels of the produce that they bought from the store as the small numerical code printed on the oval stickers tell a lot about the food that you're eating.
The Aussie divulged that the codes can give you vital information such as the exact location where the produce was harvested, whether it was genetically modified or not, and even what chemicals or pesticides were used during its farming.
Credit: TikTok/@joshuabollom
Joshua also shared some of the more common code combinations found in the stickers attached to the skin of your favourite produce.
He explained: “I’m sure a lot of you eat fruit, and whenever you buy fruit, you always see these little stickers on them.”
“Well, these little stickers actually tell you how the fruit is grown.”
He then demonstrated how to crack the PLU (price look up) code — a universal coding system — using the stickers found on the fresh produce he had at hand, which include an apple, an orange, and one lemon.
Joshua said that you should think twice before throwing out the sticker on your fruit or veg because it discloses a lot of information about the produce that you’re consuming. Credit: TikTok/@joshuabollom.
“These numbers mean different things, so a four-digit number means it’s been grown with pesticides, and a five-digit number that starts with eight usually means it’s genetically modified (GMO)," he said.
“A five-digit number starting with nine usually means it’s certified organic.”
According to the International Federation for Produce Standards, small fresh produce — such as grapes and cherries — have their codes placed on their packaging instead of their skins so you should check out the stickers on the packaging too.
When it comes to GMO fruits and vegetables, it should be noted that while the federal government bans farming GMO produce in the country, there are some imported processed food products that contain ingredients that are genetically modified — examples of these include cereals made from GM corn and chips made from GM potatoes. More information on this can be found at this link.
The video has gone viral, amassing more than 2.9 million views and thousands of comments from users who were astounded by the shocking revelation.
One person wrote: “I work in a grocery store, this is 100 per cent true.”
“Wow I had no idea!!!!,” another added.
For those of you who are curious to learn more about how the PLU coding works, we encourage you to visit this link for more information.
What are your thoughts on this? Should this information be more widespread to raise awareness? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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