What are those stickers on my fresh produce?

Those stickers you find on your produce in the grocery store is the price look-up code or PLU. The PLU is a four- to five-digit price look-up code and is determined by the International Federation for Produce Standards. Once the cashier places your produce on the scale and enters the code into the register, the computer will calculate the price per pound.

But the information on the sticker doesn't stop there. If the produce is conventionally grown, its PLU will begin with 4 and contain three more digits. Organic produce will have a five-digit PLU that begins with 9. Genetically modified produce will also have a five-digit PLU but will begin with 8.

For example:

4409 = conventional large Bartlett pear
84409 = genetically modified large Bartlett pear
94409 = organic large Bartlett pear

The PLU sometimes lists the grower and variety of the produce.