How do you know if your supermarket fruit has been sprayed with chemicals?

A TikToker went viral after a little-known “hack” about supermarket fruits was revealed.

Joshua Bollom from Sydney found that the stickers on the fruit contained a cryptic number showing how the food was grown.

These four or five digit codes reveal important information, including whether the food is organically grown.

In the video, 25-year-old Joshua lined up an apple, a lemon, and an orange to compare the numbers on each sticker.

Scroll down for the video

Joshua Bollom (left) from Sydney found that the stickers on the fruit contained a cryptic number showing how the food was grown.

“This is something I learned when I was 25. So I’m sure most of you eat fruit and you always see these little stickers on it when you buy fruit,” Joshua said in the video.

“Well, these little stickers actually tell you how the fruit is growing.

“If you look closely you will see it” [these stickers] It will be a four or five digit number.”

Joshua went on to explain what each number means, noting that the four-digit numbers mean the fruit was “grown in pesticides.”

“A five-digit number starting with eight usually means it’s been genetically modified, and a five-digit number starting with nine usually means it’s certified organic,” he said.

According to Business Insider and the International Production Standards Federation website, labels with four-digit codes that begin with three or four indicate that the fruit or vegetable was produced using traditional farming techniques.

A five-digit code that begins with the number nine means the fruit is organically grown.

A five-digit code starting with the number eight means the food has been genetically modified.

After 48 hours, Joshua’s TikTok video went viral with over 1.4 million views, and grocery store workers claimed it was true.

It amazes me that so many people don’t believe it. I thought it was public now,” he wrote.

Another said, “It’s called a PLU (price lookup) number, yes, it’s used for these things, but it’s also used as a code to write to cashiers.”

Others thanked Joshua for sharing his helpful tip with thousands of people online.

If you’d like to learn more about what the codes mean, you can search the International Manufacturing Standards Federation website.