About those little stickers on fruit...

[RawKnitster]

I've always wondered why every piece of fruit had a little sticker on it. I was especially put out yesterday when I overlooked one and it got blended into my green smoothie. Today I learned something about them and I have a new appreciation for those annoying little stickers.

The numbers on fruits and veggies mean something we can all relate to.

If the number begins with:
3 or 4 = regular non-organic :)
9 = organic :D
8 = genetically modified :eek:

[michigan roman]

great info rk , thanx .

"blended the sticker" :p

[juliebove]

The stickers are on there so they can be scanned.

When I was a kid, there were no stickers. There were also no scanners and also a lot less variety of produce we could buy. There was one kind of banana. Maybe two or three kinds of apples. One kind of orange. Fewer kinds of lettuce.

I do remember when the stickers first came out. Back then not every kind of produce had a sticker. Only some did. Some grocery stores actually had a sticker station in the produce department. You would bag up your produce then take it there where they applied a sticker to each bag so that it could be scanned. There wasn't organic produce in those days either.

Now they are saying they are going to start tattooing the produce with ink instead of stickers. I'm not sure I will like this. What will the ink be made of? And how will they do dark things like purple eggplant?

[irishserra]

Meh, a little extra "roughage," right? Isn't that what we used to be told when we consumed paper products? (Well, at least I was) :p

[spicyfull]

Thanks for Sharing.

[Jenifae]

Whoa! Thanks for sharing that. I had no idea about that and am really glad to be aware now.

[Raw Hope]

Good to know thank you

[Colorawdo girl]

It really helped me to identify loose produce as organic when I learned about the nine on the sticker.All the rest,I dont want them.

[jurence]

Hmm I didn't know that about the number coding- good to know. I know that they type all of the produce, and it is easier to price it if it doesn't scan just by typing in the code.

[Moretta]

Thanks for the information, but the stickers are still annoying.

[SweetTangerine]

Thank you for sharing this.

[Humanist]

If a pear is tattooed with ink, is it organic? This sounds like a terrible idea. I don't want ink on my food! At least the stickers can be removed—except for the glue residue.

[RaeVynn]

I think the ink they use to tattoo fruit is soy-based. Does it wash off with veggie wash? Maybe a bit of Dr. Bronner's soap?

[jurence]

I highly doubt they would use any ink that would be harmful to you, i mean they have regulations for food toxic to our body

oh, please excuse the sarcasm

[Pitaya]

thanks for this post : )

i read somewhere that 94 is organic, and 93 is organic AND genetically modified .... could just be in Canada though

[juliebove]

I think the ink they use to tattoo fruit is soy-based. Does it wash off with veggie wash? Maybe a bit of Dr. Bronner's soap?

I hope not! Soy is a top 8 allergen and we avoid it.