HEALTH: Sticky But Useful Fruit Labels - Important Info!!

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Sticky But Useful Fruit Labels

 

As much as we may dislike them, the stickers or labels attached to fruit

speed up the scanning process at checkout. Cashiers no longer need to

distinguish a Fuji apple from a Gala apple, a prickly pear from a horned

melon, or a grapefruit from an ugli fruit.

 

They simply key in the PLU code - the price lookup number printed on the

sticker - and the market's computerized cash register identifies the

fruit by its PLU.

 

The numbers also enable retailers to track how well individual varieties

are selling.

 

For conventionally grown fruit, 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 fruit has a five-numeral PLU

prefaced by the number 8.

 

So, a conventionally grown banana would be 4011, an organic banana would

be 94011, and a genetically engineered banana would be 84011.

 

The numeric system was developed by the Produce Electronic

Identification Board, an affiliate of the Produce Marketing Association,

a Newark, Del.-based trade group for the produce industry. As of October

2001, the board had assigned more than 1,200 PLUs for individual produce items.

 

Fruit companies hear plenty of complaints from consumers about

hard-to-remove stickers. Retailers gripe that stickers fall off or

become marred during transport.

 

In response, some shippers have begun using stickers designed with tabs

that make them easier to lift off, and are buying equipment that applies

adhesive to the sticker but not to the tab.

 

Companies are also experimenting with different sticker materials, such

as vinyl, that hold up under a variety of temperature and moisture conditions.

 

The adhesive now used to attach the stickers is food-grade, but the

stickers themselves aren't edible. To remove stubborn ones, soak in warm

water for a minute or two.

 

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Sticky But Useful Fruit Labels - The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/food/3547139.htm