All Topics  
Price Look-Up codes

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Price Look-Up codes
 
 
  Topics Price Look-Up codes Topic Home

Price Look-Up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers or PLUs, are identification numbers affixed to produce
Produce

Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods, not limited to fruit and vegetables. More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested....
 and other products in grocery store
Grocery store

A grocery store is a store established primarily for the retailing of food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells them to customers....
s and supermarkets to make check-out and inventory control
Inventory control

Inventory control can refer to several concepts:*In economics, the inventory control problem, which aims to reduce overhead cost without hurting sales....
 easier, faster, and more accurate. The code is a four or five-digit number, currently in the 0-4999 range, identifying the type of bulk produce, usually including the variety
Variety (plant)

A "plant variety" is a legal term, following the UPOV Convention. Recognition of a cultivated plant as a "variety" provides its Plant breeding with some legal protection, so-called plant breeders' rights, depending to some extent on the internal legislation of the signatory countries....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Price Look-Up codes'
Start a new discussion about 'Price Look-Up codes'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Malus Cripps Pink
Price Look-Up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers or PLUs, are identification numbers affixed to produce
Produce

Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods, not limited to fruit and vegetables. More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested....
 and other products in grocery store
Grocery store

A grocery store is a store established primarily for the retailing of food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells them to customers....
s and supermarkets to make check-out and inventory control
Inventory control

Inventory control can refer to several concepts:*In economics, the inventory control problem, which aims to reduce overhead cost without hurting sales....
 easier, faster, and more accurate. The code is a four or five-digit number, currently in the 0-4999 range, identifying the type of bulk produce, usually including the variety
Variety (plant)

A "plant variety" is a legal term, following the UPOV Convention. Recognition of a cultivated plant as a "variety" provides its Plant breeding with some legal protection, so-called plant breeders' rights, depending to some extent on the internal legislation of the signatory countries....
. Organic
Organic food

Organic foods are made according to certain production standards, meaning they are grown without the use of conventional pesticides and artificial fertilizers, free from contamination by human or industrial waste, and processed without food irradiation or food additives....
 produce is denoted by a five-digit number whose first digit is 9 (e.g. 94011 for organic yellow bananas
Banana

File:Banana and cross section.jpgBanana is the common name for a fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit....
); an 8 prefix indicates genetically modified food
Genetically modified food

Genetically modified foods are foods made from crops that have been given specific traits through genetic engineering. Unlike crops developed through conventional genetic modification that have been accepted and have been consumed for years, GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s....
. The codes have been in use since 1990. Currently, there are over 1300 universal PLU codes assigned . 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
Produce Marketing Association

The Produce Marketing Association is a global trade association whose 2200 members represent the full supply chain of the produce and mass-market floral industry, from seed producer to supermarket or foodservice outlet....
 .

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 laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
s and printing or "tattooing
Tattoo

A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding....
" using ink made from substances such as blueberry
Blueberry

Blueberries are flowering plants in the genus Vaccinium, sect. Cyanococcus. The species are native only to North America. They are shrubs varying in size from 10 cm tall to 4 m tall; the smaller species are known as "lowbush blueberries" , and the larger species as "highbush blueberries"....
 juice.

See also

Universal Product Code
Universal Product Code

The Universal Product Code is a barcode#Symbologies , that is widely used in the United States and Canada for tracking trade items in stores....
 - another system for identification of consumer products

External links