WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Fruit and vegetables labelled with a five-digit code beginning with the number eight are genetically modified.
OUR VERDICT
False. The code no longer designates genetically modified produce.
AAP FACTCHECK - A five-digit code on fruit and vegetables beginning with the number eight does not indicate the product is genetically modified, despite a viral claim on social media.
While the number eight prefix was originally reserved for genetically modified produce under an industry coding system, it was never used in practice and the designation was abandoned in 2015.
Currently, no produce is labelled with a five-digit code beginning with eight.
The claim has been widely shared online, including in one post that has attracted significant engagement.
"Be careful when buying bananas!" the post reads.
The post accurately states that numerical stickers on fruit and vegetables partly reveal how the produce was grown.
However, it incorrectly states that "if a product has a 5-digit code that starts with the number 8, it means that the product is genetically modified or commonly known as GMO."
The stickers refer to Price Look-Up (PLU) codes assigned by the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS).
Its website states the codes, which are printed on small stickers on produce, are designed to make checkout and inventory processes easier, faster and more accurate.
Different numbers are allocated to identify unique varieties of produce.
At present, four-digit codes beginning with the number three or four are assigned to each produce type. However, a number nine prefix is added to a code if the produce was grown organically, making a five-digit code.
For example, the code 4234 identifies conventionally grown baby bananas, whereas 94234 would be for organic baby bananas.
While for a time, an eight prefix was reserved for genetically modified (GM) produce, this was never used in retail and the designation was abandoned in 2015.
The organisation then decided to reassign the prefix to expand the pool of available PLU numbers for conventional produce.
An IFPS spokesperson told AAP FactCheck that five-digit codes beginning with the number eight are still not in use.
"These will be reserved for when the PLUs beginning with three or four have been exhausted," the IFPS spokesperson said.
In New Zealand and Australia, all GM food legally has to have a "genetically modified" label, according to Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).
Any product that includes a GM ingredient must also be labelled.
Exemptions only apply to food intended for immediate consumption that is prepared and sold from food outlets like restaurants, takeaway shops or caterers.
All GM foods have to be approved in a schedule in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
GM bananas are also not yet commercially available in Australia or New Zealand.
Currently, only one disease-resistant banana line - QCAV-4 - has been approved.
When it was first permitted in 2024, FSANZ said it was the first GM banana approved in the world.
The line was developed by researchers at Queensland University of Technology to stop the spread of a fungus that could decimate crops, according to an ABC story, but has not yet been commercially produced.
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