THE WAFFLEMAN: US-Made Or Not? Read the Bar Code!

Yo! Here we go again with this interesting info. We are encouraged to buy American- and Canadian-made products – but how do you know where it is from? Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know consumers do not prefer products “Made in China”, so they don’t show in which country an item is made. This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the public, therefore we have to rescue ourselves. If the government won’t help us, we must help ourselves.

With all the food, pet and other products now coming from China, it is best to make sure you read the label at the grocery store when shopping. The whole world is concerned about China-made “black-hearted goods”. Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China?

Many products  no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located. Always read the labels on the foods you buy – carefully.

No matter what the front of the box or package says, turn it over and read the barcode on the back. It is important to read the bar code to track its origin. It is an excellent way to know the origin of the product. But how do you read Bar Codes?

If the first 3 digits (from the left) of barcode are 690, 691or 692, the product was made in China; 471 means the product was made in Taiwan.

You can now refer to the barcode to know the origin of the product if you just remember these simple codes. If the first three digits are: 690-692, it was made in China. 00-09 = USA and Canada. 30-37 = France. 40-44 = Germany. 471 = Taiwan. 49 = Japan. 50 = United Kingdom. The products from almost every other country have a code to identify where they are from.

Keep this information down in case you forget it. Copy it on your shopping list. Show it to the person in your household that does the shopping. This may be very useful to know when grocery shopping, if it’s a concern to you.

So buy American and Canadian products by checking for the “0” at the beginning of the barcode number. We need every boost we can get! Pass this on to everybody who is concerned about buying foreign-made products.

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