How to read barcodes

Got this on Facebook and thought it was interesting. I hadn't known this so I thought I would share.

Some countries <coughChinacough> are starting to try and avoid opening declaring that a product was made there.

Fortunately we can tell where a product was made by looking at the first 3 numbers on the bar code.

A complete list can be found here;
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Basically, if you stick with bar codes that begin with zero, it will be made in North America. The one below begins 011, made in North America (if I'm following this right).

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I think you've got the wrong end of the stick here, Fowler. I looked around the house and found barcodes starting with 0 and some with 7. The numbers that follow are all over the place.

The system mentioned seems to have something to do with import/export bar codes (maybe on shipments) not barcodes on individual products for pricing purposes.

Ah, I see that it is partially true but not %100 accurate. It gives you the country of the company, not necessarily where the item originated.

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I see in the list that Canada has a couple of 7 numbers as well.

I did a little more research. The barcodes we see on most products are "point of sale" codes. They identify the product and relate it to the selling price the merchant has keyed in for that product. Here's a link [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The codes referenced are the standard assigned for business shipping worldwide so the barcode readers in customs can quickly identify the country of origin, but these barcodes would be on shipping documents and master cartons, not individual items.

I have a package of Advantage sitting on my desk. First 3 numbers are 056. Or a package of hot chocolate with 058. Simply doesn't relate to this country list.

So we don't even see the barcode that would tell us the origin. Rats!

Best to just assume everything is now made in China. If the package says "Made in Canada" there is likely a town somewhere in China named "Canada".