Grex Cooking Conference

Item 273: Organic, modified, or conventional fruit

Entered by tod on Thu May 29 21:40:50 2008:

Received this tip from my Aunt:
If you are concerned about buying genetically modified foods without knowing
it, here is the way to tell:
        Look for the labels stuck on your fruits and veggies:
            * A four-digit number means it's conventionally grown
            * A five-digit number beginning with 9 means it's organic
            * A five-digit number beginning with 8 means it's genetically
modified



(I've fact checked this on numerous sources and it appears to be legit)
12 responses total.
#1 of 12 by keesan on Fri May 30 00:36:25 2008:

None of the fruits and vegetables at the market have numbers on them.  I could
ask the growser.

#2 of 12 by slynne on Fri May 30 00:38:52 2008:

Are you talking about the farmer's market? Do they have fruit and
vegetables yet. Last time I went it was all flowers.

#3 of 12 by keesan on Fri May 30 00:49:58 2008:

I don't know - I only go in the fall to get eggplants to freeze, and
watermelons.  Right now we are swamped with mustard greens and after I pull
them out we will eat the spinach and Chinese rape and other greens such as
arugula and lettuce.  Someone at market must have lettuce and mustard and
asparagus and rhubarb by now, and spinach.  Peas come later (unless we eat
the vines stir-fried).  I also planted red orach and we are eating the wild
amaranth and lambs quarters (and I planted a pink version) and the purslane
(wild green and tame yellow) is probably edible but tiny.  The leeks are big
enough to eat, and the garlic greens.  The strawberries are green.
We also freeze canteloupe and corn in the fall.

#4 of 12 by edina on Fri May 30 15:48:48 2008:

How well does melon freeze?  I've always wondered....

#5 of 12 by keesan on Fri May 30 16:52:48 2008:

It freezes fine but changes texture.  Ripe melon is soft anyway.  The
supermarket stuff is crunchy.

#6 of 12 by edina on Fri May 30 17:06:08 2008:

You call it supermarket, I call it "unripe."

#7 of 12 by keesan on Fri May 30 20:57:40 2008:

Is there a difference between supermarket and unripe?

#8 of 12 by edina on Fri May 30 21:56:23 2008:

Sindi come on - you can buy unripe fruit at a farmer's market.

#9 of 12 by keesan on Fri May 30 22:55:32 2008:

Can you buy ripe fruit at a supermarket?

#10 of 12 by edina on Fri May 30 23:30:16 2008:

Of course you can.

#11 of 12 by lar on Tue Jul 22 08:23:24 2008:

re#0

Does this apply for Fl stores(Publix) as well? The numbers are 
called "plu" numbers and they are used in place of bar codes.

#12 of 12 by slynne on Tue Jul 22 14:05:50 2008:

Unless Publix has their own unique PLU scheme, then this probably
applies to them as well. It seems unlikely that they would have a PLU
scheme that is different than one in resp:0

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