Dear all,
This email is utterly a hoax as according to 'hoaxslayer.com', one of the trusted sites that analyses emails & distinguishes it from hoax or not. I urge all keralites not to forward any types of hoax or scam mails. It's just waste of bandwidth. Before forwarding, please verify that the particular email is true in all aspects & is from trusted sources.
Though there are many variations to this hoax email, the matter remains the same. Below is the extracted text from hoaxslayer.com regarding this email.
HoaxSlyer.com Analysis
Commentary:
This email claims that consumers can find out which country a product was manufactured in by examining the product's barcode. According to the message, the first three digits of the product barcode identify where the product was made. It suggests that concerned consumers could thus easily identify products made in countries with a dubious reputation for contaminated or dangerous products such as China by matching the first three barcode digits to a country list included in the message.
| ©iStockphoto.com/imagestock  The first three digits of a product barcode do not always identify where the product was made |
The first three digits of European Article Number (EAN) barcodes are known as the manufacturing code and they do indicate which EAN numbering authority allocated a particular set of numbers. Every country that uses the EAN system has its own numbering authority which is responsible for assigning manufacturer codes for companies within its jurisdiction. These codes are sometimes referred to as "country codes". Thus, at first take, the information in the message may seem valid.
However, in reality, this is not the case. An FAQ published on bar code information website Bar Code 1 explains:
Does the barcode number indicate the country of origin of a product?This information is confirmed on a barcode prefix list published on global standards organisation, GS1's website:
No it doesn't. The 3-digit prefix code indicates which numbering organization has allocated the bank of numbers to the company. For example, a company may have it's headquarters in South Africa. The EAN organization in South Africa has the code "600", but all the products of the company may be manufactured in England. The English-made products would still have the "600" prefix code. The prefix code is a way to have 70-plus EAN member organizations issuing numbers without having to worry about duplicate numbers.
GS1 Prefixes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product. They simply provide number capacity to different countries for assignment from that location to companies who apply. Those companies in turn may manufacture products anywhere in the world.Thus, while the first three digits of the product barcode may sometimes indicate where the product was manufactured, it will not always do so. For example, a barcode that has 690 as the first three digits indicates that the barcode was assigned by the Chinese EAN numbering authority. However, it does not necessarily mean that the product was actually manufactured in China.
Therefore, the advice given in this email is actually rather pointless. The information in the email would only be useful to consumers if the prefix invariably indicated where a product was manufactured. The fact that the barcode prefix is not a reliable and constant method of determining a product's country of manufacture means that, while the information in the email may be interesting, it is actually of little practical value.
Source: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/product-bar-codes.shtml
With my best regards,
Robin Mathew Rajan.
Orkut 
Facebook 
TwitterChat
robinmathewrajan 
mathewwarm 
robinmathewrajan@hotmail.com 
robinmathewrajanFrom: RAJA RAJESWARAN <svgasrly@yahoo.com>
To: Keralites <Keralites@YahooGroups.com>
Cc:
Sent: Thursday, 10 February 2011 5:48 PM
Subject: [www.keralites.net] <<< ~ Know the Bar-Code ~ >>>
India Bar Code's 1st Three Digits are 890,
Buy Them as much as YOU can.
|
| 00-13: USA & Canada | 20-29: In-Store Functions | 30-37: France |
| 40-44: Germany | 45: Japan (also 49) | 46: Russian Federation |
| 471: Taiwan | 474: Estonia | 475: Latvia |
| 477: Lithuania | 479: Sri Lanka | 480: Philippines |
| 482: Ukraine | 484: Moldova | 485: Armenia |
| 486: Georgia | 487: Kazakhstan | 489: Hong Kong |
| 49: Japan (JAN-13) | 50: United Kingdom | 520: Greece |
| 528: Lebanon | 529: Cyprus | 531: Macedonia |
| 535: Malta | 539: Ireland | 54: Belgium & Luxembourg |
| 560: Portugal | 569: Iceland | 57: Denmark |
| 590: Poland | 594: Romania | 599: Hungary |
| 600 & 601: South Africa | 609: Mauritius | 611: Morocco |
| 613: Algeria | 619: Tunisia | 622: Egypt |
| 625: Jordan | 626: Iran | 64: Finland |
| 690-692: China | 70: Norway | 729: Israel |
| 73: Sweden | 740: Guatemala | 741: El Salvador |
| 742: Honduras | 743: Nicaragua | 744: Costa Rica |
| 746: Dominican Republic | 750: Mexico | 759: Venezuela |
| 76: Switzerland | 770: Colombia | 773: Uruguay |
| 775: Peru | 777: Bolivia | 779: Argentina |
| 780: Chile | 784: Paraguay | 785: Peru |
| 786: Ecuador | 789: Brazil | 80 - 83: Italy |
| 84: Spain | 850: Cuba | 858: Slovakia |
| 859: Czech Republic | 860: Yugoslavia | 869: Turkey |
| 87: Netherlands | 880: South Korea | 885: Thailand |
| 888: Singapore | 890: India | 893: Vietnam |
| 899: Indonesia | 90 & 91: Austria | 93: Australia |
| 94: New Zealand | 955: Malaysia | 977: International Standard Serial Number for Periodicals (ISSN) |
| 978: International Standard Book Numbering (ISBN) | 979: International Standard Music Number (ISMN) | 980: Refund receipts |
| 981 & 982: Common Currency Coupons | 99: Coupons | |
With more and more milk products from China and Taiwan having problem, we must check where the things are produced. Here is a way to differentiate Taiwan made products and China made products : by looking at first three digits of its Bar Code.
If the 1st 3 digits are 690, 691 or 692 - China made
If the 1st 3 digits are 471 – Taiwan made
So please spread the words to everyone......
Nowadays, China businessmen know the consumers do not prefer products "made in china", so they won't show made from which country.
However, you may now refer to the barcodes, if the first 3 digits is 690-692 then it is made in China .
With Regards P. Raja Rajeswaran
Nowadays, China businessmen know the consumers do not prefer products "made in china", so they won't show made from which country.
However, you may now refer to the barcodes, if the first 3 digits is 690-692 then it is made in China .
With Regards P. Raja Rajeswaran Station Master/S. Railway
www.keralites.net |
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