Saturday, February 1, 2020

How to read bar codes.

Always read labels on the foods you buy - no matter what the front of the box or package says, turn it over and read the back carefully!

With most food and pet products, now, coming from China, it is best to make sure you read the label at the supermarket and especially, when buying food products. Many products no longer show where made, only give where the distributor is located. The whole world is concerned about China-made "black-hearted goods".

Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China? The world is also concerned about GMO (Generally Modified Organism) foods; steroid fed animals (for eg. 45-day-old broiler chicken).

It is important to read the bar code to track its origin How to read Bar Codes......it's interesting!

If the first 3 digits of the bar code are 690, 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.
471 is MADE IN TAIWAN.
If the first digits of the bar code are 00-09, then it's made or outsourced in/from USA.

This is our right to know but the government and related departments never educate the public, therefore we have to rescue ourselves. Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA", so they don't show from which country it is made. However, you may now refer to the bar code....

Remember if the first digits are :-

890                             MADE IN INDIA
690, 691, 692             MADE IN CHINA
00 - 09                        USA and CANADA
30 - 37                        FRANCE
40 - 44                        GERMANY
471                             TAIWAN
45 or 49                      JAPAN
480                             PHILIPPINES                   
489                             HONG KONG
50                               UK
57                               DENMARK
64                               FINLAND
76                               SWITZERLAND and LIENCHTENSTIEN
628                             SAUDI ARABIA
629                             UAE
740 - 745                    CENTRAL AMERICA.



Tailpiece.

Got up at a quarter past 5 and therefore, skipped the walk. It was a quiet day, otherwise.

PS.

                        THE COUNTER VIEW ABOUT BAR CODES
                                                  Brett M Christensen

Brief Analysis

The information in the message, above, is misleading. While the first three digits of the product barcode may sometimes indicate where the product was manufactured, it will not always do so. The barcode prefix is not a reliable and constant method of determining a product's country of manufacture.

Detailed Analysis

The first three digits of European Article Number (EAN) barcodes are known as the manufacturing code and they do indicate which EAN numbering authority allocated a particular set of numbers. Every country that uses the EAN system has its own numbering authority which is responsible for assigning manufacturer codes for companies within its jurisdiction. These codes are referred to as "country codes". Thus, at first take, the information may seem valid.

However, in reality, this is not the true case. An FAQ published on bar code information website Bar Code explains :

 "Does the barcode number indicate the country of origin of a product?
   No, it doesn't. The 3-digit prefix code indicates which numbering organisation has allocated the 
   bank of numbers to the company. For example, a company may have its HQs in South Africa. The
   EAN organisation in South Africa has the code "600", but all the products of the company may be
   manufactured in England. The English-made products would still have the "600" prefix code. The
   prefix code is a way to have 70-plus EAN member organisations issuing numbers without having to
   worry about duplicate numbers.

This information is confirmed on a barcode FAQ published on global standards organisation, GS1's website :

   A GTIN starts with the GS1 Prefix of the GS1 Member Organisation that allocated a GS1 Company
   Prefix to a company to allow them to generate GTINs and barcode their products. This does not 
   mean that the product was manufactured in a specific country or by a specific manufacturer, it may
   have been produced anywhere in the world".

Thus while the first three digits of the product barcode may sometimes indicate where the product was manufactured, it will not always do so. For example, a barcode that has 690 as the first three digits indicates that the barcode was assigned by the Chinese EAN numbering authority. However, it
does not necessarily mean that the product was actually manufactured in China.

Therefore, the advice given above is actually rather pointless. The information would only be useful to consumers if the prefix invariably indicated where a product was manufactured. The fact that the barcode prefix is not a reliable and constant method of determining a product's country of manufacture means that, while the information may be interesting, it is actually of little practical value.




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