Barcodes: carrier of secret messages or just a product identifier?

In the context of recent public debate regarding food safety and country of origin labelling, GS1 Australia has addressed a persistent urban myth that the first three digits of a barcode act as a de facto country of origin label.

Maria Palazzolo, chief executive officer at GS1 Australia, explains, “Thirty-six years ago, Australian retailers adopted the GS1 system of numbering and barcoding as their preferred standard of trade.

“This means that all products that are sold to and by a retailer need to be uniquely identified with a GS1 barcode that has a unique product identification number called a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). The GTIN is printed below the black and white stripes of a typical barcode.”

GS1 Australia, a not-for-profit organisation, administers and issues authorised GS1 Barcode numbers (GTINs) for Australian businesses beginning with 93. A barcode that starts with 93 indicates that the barcode number was sourced from GS1 Australia; however, this is completely unrelated to the country of origin of the product.

GS1 members can manufacture products anywhere in the world and source raw materials on a local or international basis.

However, since 2008, a story originating from the US has been shared around the world about product scares involving melamine-tainted pet foods, lead-tainted toys and melamine-tainted milk products - all originating in China.

“This started a chain reaction amongst consumers about the country of origin of any product, which is still on trend today. It re-emerges every few months through social media,” Palazzolo added.

“Consumers were led to believe that the first two to three digits of a product’s barcode would tell them where the product was made. This presumption was, and still is, fiction and completely incorrect.”