What do the numbers on barcodes mean?

EAN-13 code: what is it?
As Gemma, a quality expert in the food industry, explains, the EAN-13 code can be requested online, but you have to be careful, because not all sites that provide it are systematically reliable.

But, to tell the truth, it is not really relevant for the consumer. As it stores a lot of information, it saves companies time above all, in terms of logistics. Through it, everything that is bought and sold at retail is controlled, including sales and stock in each store.

What do the first digits of the barcode mean and which country do they indicate?
barcode label
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Barcode label – Source: spm

Now let’s see how to read the barcode. The first two or three digits are used to indicate the country that grants this code. However, this does not mean that it is exactly the country of origin of the product, as it refers above all to its marketing. The next four or five digits highlight the company code. Technically, they identify the owner of the brand. The next five digits correspond to the product code. In total, the combination adds up to 12 digits. The thirteenth refers to the check digit. As for the configuration of the bars, with thicknesses and blanks, it amounts to an automatic reading of the code. Of course, in case of problem, the numbers can be entered manually.

What is the difference between the 12-digit and 14-digit code?
While UPC (GTIN-12) is commonly used as an identifier for items read by a point-of-sale scanner, GTIN-14 data structures are used instead