Most often on bananas, but often on other pieces of fruit as well, peel stickers are something that most people don't even look at, but instinctively remove before eating. Even if they are noticed, hardly anyone knows what these statements mean.
They are not there for nothing, experts explain. In addition to the possible name of the producer, the declaration must also contain a number that reveals important information about the method of production of this fruit.
Review the labels. Photo: Ralph Ravi Kayden/UnsplashThe declarations mainly refer to fruit imported from abroad, and this is the meaning of these numbers:
Sticker with four numbers
A declaration with four numbers starting with the number 3 or 4 means that the fruit was grown with artificial fertilizers, i.e. according to the agricultural rules that have been in force for the last 50 years. For example, such a lemon is marked with 4033, and bananas with the number 4011.
What does the number 4 mean? Photo: Brian Wangenheim / UnsplashSticker with five numbers
If there are not four numbers on the fruit, but five - of which the first number is 9, it means that the fruit is of organic origin. Such a declaration is a guarantee for cultivation without fertilizers and pesticides. For example, organic bananas have the number 94011.
The first number on the declaration is 8
This is perhaps the most important declaration and represents a fruit that has been genetically modified, identified by five numbers, the first of which is always the mark 8. For example, such bananas have the number 84011.
