How to spot a GMO (genetically modified organism) in the grocery store

By on January 4, 2010 in News 34

Very interesting. Who knew?

tomatoes

Are you eating Genetically Modified Foods? Do you know how to tell? I recently found out that you can easily tell whether the produce you purchase at the grocery store is a GMO just buy looking at the PLU (price look up) code.

Here are the rules:
If the PLU is 5 digits and begins with an 8, then it a Genetically Modified Organism
If the PLU is 4 digits (even if it begins with an 8) then it is not a GMO

When you purchase processed foods, you need to know that according to Wikipedia, as many as 75% of all processed foods on American shelves contain at least one GMO. As far as I can tell, there is no way to tell if a packaged item contains GMOs or not. Just another reason to skip over the middle of the grocery store as much as possible.

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  • SecretSteve

    PLU's sometimes show up as a smiley face? WTH?

    This is good info though…thanks!

    • sashalosh

      Its an 8 if you type 8) it automatically comes up as the smiley with sunglasses

      • http://twitter.com/Dumbsaint Dumbsaint

        (=^_^=)v indicates japanese imported GMO fyi

        • Jerry Mander

          And <===3 indicates bananas.

  • http://www.openlybalanced.com/blog Jess @ Openly Balanced

    For processed foods you can buy organic. Outside of organic, GMOs are rarely (possibly never?) labeled. But I agree with you – just skip that center section!

  • oconutmamma

    I wonder if this is world-wide or only applies to the US of A?

  • holyhellcat

    right on!

  • Hyperborean

    Also, if the PLU is 5 digits and begins with a 9, then the item is organic. I worked at a local grocery store for a while, I'm not sure if this is the case nation-wide.

  • gigi

    All modern fruits and vegetable are genetically modified. You mean genetically engineered.

    • Belcat

      Carrots were originally purple. The Netherlands wanted them to be orange for better symbolism with Dutch independence…. way way back. It's all a question of what and when…

      • Sallywoodstock

        Ooooh and I thought that carrots were orange due to the fact that they contained beta-carotene….which is orange? Oh and don't forget that strange shade of fake tan orange that one turns if one eats too many carrots either?

        • Holly

          Sally, that color people turn from too much vitamin A is caused by excess bilirubin from the liver, not beta carotene. Happened to a friend in high school who would eat nothing but carrots. Today we call that anorexia.

          • Jstagoodgirl

            It also happens from eating too many sweet potatoes, and it is COMPLETELY harmless

    • Grannygoodfood

      There is “Genetically Modified Organisms” in food, which makes it “Genetically Engineered.” So GMO and GE basically mean the same.

  • radiac

    Suddenly “heirloom” tomatoes don't sound so goofy

  • bmesnard

    Me thinks you are badly misinformed.
    See http://www.organicfoodcoupons.com/organic/coupo….
    Unless it's GMO papaya, you can't tell anything.
    You should post a retraction/correction if you care about being accurate. Otherwise you're free to say anything you want.

  • Eileen

    You do know that Wikipedia is NOT a valid source of accurate information as anyone can edit — add and/or delete — information as they see fit w/no requirement of proof of accuracy.

    Not to discredit any concerns you may have about food, but you should be careful to site legit sources.

    • Dave Wilber

      I call it wicked pedia. I sent out an email denouncing legal tender as evil and I believe it was tahoo email who edited my message and made a link out the 2 words “legal tender.” Wicked Pedia then goes o as if legal tender is something good, Legal tender laws permit government to take everything without paying for anything. With his unconstitutional legal tender acts, Lincoln made every war since his timer possible and his contemporary, Horace Greeley said Lincon's system “is no less cruel than the old system of chatel slavery.” See what Reverend R. Rushdoony had to say and he was known nationally: http://www.morpix.biz/god then see: http://www.morpix.biz/dc for 6 free books by the late Merrill Jenkins, Monetary Realist see” http://www.morpix.biz/x15 He wrote “Money” The Greatest Hoax on Earth in 1971 and predicted the crash of 1008.

    • saturnx311

      That would be “cite” not “site”

  • turd

    im gay

    • hi

      u free friday

  • Andrew

    Informing consumers about the products they purchase is a form of Marxist oppression, and two steps away from genocide by famine.

  • Dave Wilber

    These words need very careful consideration: The Federal Reserve did not lie. Nobel Laureate, Paul Samuelson said the Federal Reserve is “an omnipotent counterfeiter.” Our founders were so concerned about counterfeiters that when they passed the Coinage Act in 1792, they permanently fixed the dollar as a measure of silver and they provided a penalty of death for counterfeiters because they knew unrestrained counterfeiters could overturn their republic. The Federal Reserve act of 1913 passed by a quorum of 3, two days before Christmas when most Congressmen were gone for the holidays, provided presses, paper, ink and labor for counterfeiters! They prefer healthy money to healthy people in that they published a booklet titled Keeping Our Money (their credit) Healthy and said their system “works only with credit” that would keep its value “IF THERE WERE FEWER PEOPLE BIDDING AGAINST EACH OTHER.” Does abortion, fluoride, aspartame, GM food and wars leave fewer people bidding against each other? What would they not do or persuade us, their victims to do to reduce the number of people bidding credit and this insure the permanence of their omnipotence? For clarity, see http://www.morpix.biz/x4 and http://www.morpix.biz/wipeout

  • Holly
  • Holly

    This urban legend has been debunked: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/plu…

    • saturnx311

      Thank you for this. It’s going all ’round facebook the last day or 2…
      I would have thought I was enough of a skeptic about everything to have at least questioned it. I’m embarrassed….

  • http://twitter.com/ethicsblogger Chris MacDonald

    This is quite misleading. PLU codes are voluntary, and the “8″ prefix for GMOs is not generally in use at all. Looking for that 8 will not result in good decisions.
    See:
    http://food-ethics.com/2010/09/09/gm-foods-and-plu-codes/

  • http://twitter.com/ethicsblogger Chris MacDonald

    This is quite misleading. PLU codes are voluntary, and the “8″ prefix for GMOs is not generally in use at all. Looking for that 8 will not result in good decisions.
    See:
    http://food-ethics.com/2010/09/09/gm-foods-and-plu-codes/

  • Jstagoodgirl

    It also happens from eating too many sweet potatoes, and it is COMPLETELY harmless

  • saturnx311

    That would be “cite” not “site”

  • saturnx311

    Thank you for this. It’s going all ’round facebook the last day or 2…
    I would have thought I was enough of a skeptic about everything to have at least questioned it. I’m embarrassed….

  • T123

    That may be the way to tell today, but not tomorrow. You need to get some pics up here, if you can.

  • T123

    That may be the way to tell today, but not tomorrow. You need to get some pics up here, if you can.