Jon Kitchen
Bananas are a favorite fruit of many people. However, most customers do not think about what exactly the numbers on the stickers mean, and there is valuable information that can significantly influence our choice to buy a banana, not just judging by its appearance.
The truth is that they are extremely important and we should follow them because they show how the fruits were looked after.
If the fruit has a label with 3 or 4 numbers on it, it means that it was grown using fertilizers and technology from the last 50 years. For example, a lemon is marked with the number 4033, while bananas are marked with the number 4011. What does it mean when the first digit is 8? This is perhaps the most important feature, because it represents a fruit that has been genetically modified, and it is recognized on the basis of five digits, the first of which is always 8. For example, these bananas have the number 84011 on their label.
However, we must keep in mind that this is a voluntary marking. The reason is that GMO producers initially did not want to label their products. In the EU, most foods produced as GMOs are labeled.
In recent years, member states have increasingly debated the issue, but a consensus has been reached that it is useful for consumers to know whether they are eating GMO or conventional food. Another important thing to know is that the adhesives for the fruit stickers are completely safe. So even if you swallow the sticker, it won’t hurt you. Organic fruit numbers start with 9. If the fruit has five digits, of which the first is 9, it means it is organic. Such a label is a guarantee that the fruit is grown without pesticides and fertilizers. For example, bananas of organic origin are numbered 94011.
