Consumer Goods Council sets record straight on barcodes

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has set the record straight about barcodes after false information started circulating on social media claiming that any product without a barcode starting with "600" is fake or illegal.

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This is false and can confuse shoppers, the CGCSA says.

"Products made or packaged in South Africa have barcodes starting with '600'," thanks to the CGCSA. However, products from other countries will have different barcode numbers but just because a barcode does not start with "600" does not mean the product is fake or illegal.

GS1 South Africa, parent company of the CGCSA, is a member organisation of GS1 Global that has the responsibility to issue a country code for barcodes. These prefixes start from 1 to 9.

GS1 Global has 118 member organisations around the world with the responsibility to issue barcodes for their respective countries. South Africa has 600-601, the CGCSA says.