Payson Roundup

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

This string started with an FW from Ruby. The FW is a little wrong, but that's not really important.

The FW says that UPC codes show the country where a product was made, but that's not quite right. It shows the country which issued the barcode. However, since it's unlikely that a country is going to be issuing a barcode for something it didn't make, it amounts to the same thing if you want to avoid buying things from certain countries:

So here we go:

The first three numbers of a barcode correctly identify the country from where something came from.

Here's an example: 4 710088 412539

In the example, the numbers 4 71 designate Taiwan.

These numbers designate the communist People's Republic of China:

6 90 through 6 95

These designate Mexico: 7 50

These designate Israel: 7 29

These designate Japan:

4 50 through 4 59
4 90 through 4 99

These designate Cuba: 8 50

These designate Vietnam: 8 93

These designate Iran: 6 26

These designate the United States:

0 00 through 0 19
0 30 through 0 39
0 60 through 1 39

These designate Canada: 7 54 through 7 55

These designate the UK: 5 00 through 5 09

What you buy and where it came from is your business, but the the codes above are ones I thought you might like.
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This URL will take you to a page with everything you ever wanted to know about barcodes, including most country codes, and a LOT more.

http://www.adams1.com/upccode.html
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Here's a frequently asked question from that site which may help you in case you want to know more:

“Does the barcode number indicate the country of origin of a product?”

“No it doesn't. The 3-digit prefix code indicates which GS1 numbering organization allocated the block of numbers to the company. For example, a company may have it's headquarters in South Africa. The GS1 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 GS1 member countries issuing numbers without having to worry about duplicate numbers. The 3-digit prefix indicates the country of the GS1 organization that issued the block of numbers, not the country of origin of the product, though they are likely to be the same.”

patrandall (Pat Randall) says…

China still uses lead in its dishware and paint they use on toys. Isn't that a little scarey?
I would like to walk into a store and see everything grown or manufactured in the good old USA.
I have to laugh when people say they buy American made vehicles. Which part of the vehicle is made here? And if there is a part manufactured here where did the material come from?
I had 3 Fords that were assembled in Canada. The radio was from Japan and don't know where the rest of the parts came from.

Not long ago I was buying Dole brand peaches in plastic jars. It said the peaches were grown in Africa and canned in Thailand.

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

I agree, Pat. It isn't American made unless the parts were made here.

As far as I'm concerned, of course, Canada and the U.S. and more or less the same place.

This thing with Toyota is proving something I have said ever since I made the mistake of buying a foreign made vehicle. We have a culture which extolls honesty regardless of who we are dealing with. In fact, we get a bit more honest when we deal with a country which hasn't got much going for it.

That is not true of some countries. In their view outsiders are fair game for any kind of scam. I have seen that with my own eyes.

Chief1942 (Ronald Hamric) says…

I have been making an attempt to use this website https://www.madeinusa.com/?page=topsrch to locate those items I might want that are made in the USA. It also tells how many Americans are employed by the different businesses. Of course, one cannot shop entirely online for all their needs, but if we do “Buy American” when we can, I think we are doing ourselves and the nation a favor.

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

“…but if we do “Buy American” when we can, I think we are doing ourselves and the nation a favor.”

Amen, Chief!

If we had a government with (a) any brains and (b) any guts we would be seeing import taxes on things which could just as well be made here. With the obvious result that we would have a healthy, thriving economy, full employment, and a positive trade balance.

patrandall (Pat Randall) says…

Chief,
Are all the parts made or grown in America?
How about the people that put them together?

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

“How about the people that put them together?”

You know where they were made.

Or at least how. :-)