Barcode Countries Origin 2024

Did you know that a product’s barcode doesn’t reveal its country of origin? A post made in 2015 went viral for claiming that products whose prefixes start with zero were made in USA and Canada, and those made in China have prefixes starting with 690-699.

Dave Aston made the claim in a bid to encourage consumers to buy products made from the two countries and avoid those made in China. More than five years later, the debate rages on as other contributors make similar claims. It couldn’t be further from the truth. A product’s barcode hardly reveals the country of origin of the item. Here’s why:

What is a Barcode?

A barcode is a machine-readable number with a pattern of parallel lines of varying widths printed on an item. Manufacturers use it to encode information about the product making it easy to monitor stock levels and facilitate orders.

The code also standardizes supply chain processes and helps monitor products as they move. The Universal Product Code is the most common barcode, and it consists of 12 numbers. Here’s a list of some GS1 prefixes and the countries they represent:

Who Assigns Barcodes?

The GS1 UK Ltd is tasked with assigning barcodes to member companies. Typically, GS1 assigns unique company prefixes to each company, usually 6-11 digits. They act as the base for identifying the company, with the other numbers assigned to particular products. As such, each product has a unique barcode. Does a Barcode Denote the Product’s Country of Origin?

When applying for the GS1 prefix, a company provides its location to determine the country prefix. So it’s safe to say that country prefixes between 690 and 699 are based in China, and those starting with zero are from the USA.

However, GS1 member companies can make products anywhere in the world. This means consumers can’t rely on GS1 prefixes to determine where the product was made or the manufacturer’s nationality.