When you buy your fruits and veggies at supermarket in the USA, they always have this little sticker with numbers on it. Do you know what it means?
Produce from organic farms
Produce that comes from organic farms, have a sticker with five numbers, and always starts with number 9.
Produce from non-organic farms
Produce that been treated with pesticides, have stickers with four number, and always starts with number 4.
(Sorry, I don’t have non-organic fruits at home to snap a picture of it)
More information on organic vs. non-organic
- Organic foods are foods produced using methods which do not involve synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic products are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives. Click here to read more.
- In the United States, the National Organic Program (NOP) is the federal regulatory framework governing organic food. You should visit their website to learn more http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop.
- Wikipedia offers also a list of countries with regulations on organic agriculture. It contains links to documents with the status of formal government-standards, regulations, and certification of organic farming and organic food.
Next time you go to supermarket, pay attention to it and you will see.
Have a great fruit and veggie shopping!
Love, Val
First published on October 31st 2012, updated in 2019
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Valentina Zelyaeva
Valentina Zelyaeva is a Russian top model, and wasthe face of Ralph Lauren for over 10 years. She lives in New York with her 2 cats. In between the fashion shoots, airplanes and car services rides, Valentina loves to prepare healthy meals, vegetable juices, smoothies and huge green salads! Particularly passionate about raw food and natural beauty products, Valentina also loves to visit local farmers markets for daily inspiration.