North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[road's end farm <organic101@linkny.com>]

On Tuesday, December 16, 2003, at 01:17 PM, Doreen Howard wrote:

> This is from the Chef's Collaborative newsletter, and it's handy 
> information
> for growers, consumers and garden writers.
> Doreen Howard
>
> A SECRET ECO-LABEL
> If you find yourself with a sudden fruit craving with nary a farmstand 
> in
> sight, duck into a supermarket and check out those annoying plastic 
> stickers
> on the fruit. Conventional produce has a four-digit code starting with 
> the
> number 4; organic produce has a five-digit code starting with the 
> number 9.
> Genetically modified produce also has a five-digit code, which starts 
> with
> the number 8. Right now, papayas are the only genetically modified food
> available in the produce section. Be aware that PLU (price lookup) 
> stickers
> are not mandatory and are not used in all stores.
Are growers and wholesalers currently required to identify GMO produce? 
I didn't think they were; in which case, GMO's might easily be going 
under a conventional label.

There are GMO summer squash on the market, and there may be GMO 
contamination in corn varieties that are not supposed to be GMO. I think 
the previous rounds of GMO potatoes and tomatoes were duds and are not 
currently being grown, but am not sure.

-- Rivka