interestingly the EU inflicted those on us

Even more interestingly, they can be used as a way to distinguish
between conventional, organic and GM fruit... :-)


Producers respond to appeals about stickers on fruit

July 17, 2002
Knight Ridder News Service

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

The numbers also enable retailers to track how well 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 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.