Check the barcode and show you care for our economy

I’VE BEEN fascinated by barcodes ever since they first appeared in our supermarkets. It amazes me that so much information can be stored in – and retrieved from – a few printed stripes. I tried to find out more about the way barcodes work, but became overwhelmed by the history and technology involved.

I have a rather short attention span and screens full of technical details cause my eyes to glaze over.

It seems there have been several different kinds of barcodes over the years, some of which have survived and others that have fallen by the wayside.

An earlier version of the present barcode was used to monitor railway carriages passing a checkpoint in America.

I did learn that the first time the present type of barcode was used was on a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum back in 1974.

(How’s that for a piece of useless information for the next pub quiz?)

One thing I did learn was that the numbers at the bottom of the barcode include information about the country of origin of the product.

Many shoppers have been worried about stories that certain products – like pet foods – from China are not safe for consumption.

To hide this some suppliers leave out the country of origin and say things like: “Packed in Durban for XYZ Supermarket”.

Note that “packed” doesn’t mean the country of origin.

I’ve been told that products originating in China have the numbers 690, 601 or 602 on the barcode. I’ll try to avoid those in future. Apart from the stories of bad pet food, I have serious reservations about supporting a country with China’s human rights record.

On the other hand, if I find a barcode with numbers beginning 600 I’ll know it was made in South Africa and be more inclined to buy it.

I believe we should all try to support South African producers whenever possible.

For your information some other barcode numbers of origin are: all 480s are made in the Philippines, 00 to 09 are from the US or Canada, 50 is from the United Kingdom and 471 is from Taiwan.

There’s not a great deal we, as individuals, can do to change the world, but I believe every little bit helps.

If every caring shopper buys just one South African product rather than a foreign one, it might make a difference.

We don’t have to wave flags, join protest marches or make speeches in order to be patriotic.

We do need to develop a pride in our country and its products.

Last Laugh

A woman walked up to a cash register in a sporting goods store. She was carrying a package of white athletic socks.

“Will you open this up so I can see how the socks feel?” she asked.

Reluctantly the assistant tore open the package, and the customer scrutinised the socks and felt them.

She handed the package back, saying, “I like them. I’ll take them.”

Relieved, the cashier started to ring them up on the till, until the customer interrupted.

“Can I rather take another pack?” she said, “This one’s been opened.”