An ad on Buzzfeed led me to this about PLU codes. Here's the ad:
So I looked it up and found my way to Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/produce.asp
Unfortunately, suppliers are not required to use the "8" for GM produce if they do not plan to price them differently from the conventionally grown stuff, and no one is required to actually issue a PLU code for everything so a lot of things go un-PLU'd. In a nutshell (from the article):
"At this point PLU codes are more of a concept than a consistently and universally applied standard (as far as we know, no supplier or vendor has ever used the '8' digit that identifies GM produce), and they were not created for the benefit of consumers, so shoppers concerned about the nature of the produce they buy should rely upon other sources of information. If you only want organic produce, look for items that are specifically labeled as "Organic"; if you want to ensure you avoid any GM produce, buy only items that are USDA certified as "organic" or "made with organic ingredients" (which cannot by law be produced from GMO's). In the latter case consumers might also look for "non-GMO" or "GMO-free" indicators, but that option is still somewhat problematic as the U.S. government does not yet directly regulate the use of those terms..."
So I looked it up and found my way to Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/produce.asp
Unfortunately, suppliers are not required to use the "8" for GM produce if they do not plan to price them differently from the conventionally grown stuff, and no one is required to actually issue a PLU code for everything so a lot of things go un-PLU'd. In a nutshell (from the article):
"At this point PLU codes are more of a concept than a consistently and universally applied standard (as far as we know, no supplier or vendor has ever used the '8' digit that identifies GM produce), and they were not created for the benefit of consumers, so shoppers concerned about the nature of the produce they buy should rely upon other sources of information. If you only want organic produce, look for items that are specifically labeled as "Organic"; if you want to ensure you avoid any GM produce, buy only items that are USDA certified as "organic" or "made with organic ingredients" (which cannot by law be produced from GMO's). In the latter case consumers might also look for "non-GMO" or "GMO-free" indicators, but that option is still somewhat problematic as the U.S. government does not yet directly regulate the use of those terms..."
Omg! Why is food labeling so confusing/difficult??!!?!? It should not be this hard to eat well! Total bullshit. The more I learn about our food environment, the more convinced i am that this is our generation's tobacco industry fight.
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