Price Look-Up code

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These apples have PLU stickers with the number 4130 on them, identifying them as Pink Lady apples

Price Look-Up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers, PLUs, produce codes or produce labels, are identification numbers affixed to produce and other products in grocery stores and supermarkets to make check-out and inventory control easier, faster, and more accurate. The code is a four or five-digit number, currently in the 3000–4999 range,[1] identifying the type of bulk produce, usually including the variety. Organic produce, grown to the standards of the National Organic Standards Board and the principles of organic farming, is denoted by a five-digit number whose first digit is 9 (e.g. 94011 for organic yellow bananas); an 8 prefix indicates genetically modified food.

The codes have been in use since 1990, and there are over 1300 universal PLU codes assigned as of 2008.[1] Use of PLU codes eliminates the need for grocery store checkers to identify each variety of produce visually. This advantage is especially important with the growth of the organic produce market; organic and conventional oranges, for example, may look the same but have very different prices.

The system is administered by the International Federation for Produce Standards, an affiliate of the Produce Marketing Association.[2]

Price look-up codes are generally printed on small stickers or tags, and are considered inconvenient by some. Various new technologies are under consideration, including etching using lasers and printing or "tattooing" using ink made from substances such as blueberry juice.[3]

Contents

[edit] Uses

These codes are used primarily in retail grocery stores or supermarkets, where they are keyed into a point of sale system by a cashier, or by the customer at a self checkout machine, while the produce is being weighed on a scale. Organic produce is most commonly identified by a 9 preceding the standard code. For example, if conventional bananas use 4011, then organic bananas would be 94011. PLUs can also be defined by the individual retailer, or location, and used in place of barcodes for a variety of reasons.

[edit] List of Common PLUs

Food Code
Bananas 4011/4237
Red Bananas 4236
Red grapes 4023/4635
Green Grapes 4022
Green Seedless Grapes 4499
Scarlet Seedless Grapes 4498
Golden Delicious Apples 4020/4021
Bartlett Pears 4113
Broccoli Crowns 3082
Broccoli Bunch 4060
Regular Tomatos 3151
Vine Ripe Tomatos 4664
Russet Potatoes 4072
Yukon Potatoes 4727
Garlic 4608
Red Onion 4082
Green Onion (Scallion) 4068
Vidalia Onion 4159
Bok Choy 4545
Lemon 4958
Lime 4048
Sweet Potato 4091
Cucumber 4062
Granny Smith Apple 4017
Yellow Onion 4166
White Onion 4663
Green Leaf Lettuce 4076
Broccoli Crowns 4549
Avocado 4225
Asparagus 4080
Plum 4040

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "IFPS FAQ". Produce Marketing Association. http://www.plucodes.com/faqs.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-10. 
  2. ^ IFPS website. Accessed July 17, 2008
  3. ^ "Tired of Prying Off Stickers? Tattooed Fruit Is on the Way" The New York Times, July 19, 2005

Sam

[edit] External links