Don’t worry, Valpré water is from South Africa despite its barcode

Consumers do not have to worry: Valpré water, whichis bottled by Coca-Cola, is indeed from South Africa and is not imported from another country. It is the real deal.

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) said in a statement it investigated the origin and authenticity of the Valpré water after receiving queries from consumers who noticed that the barcode on the bottles does not start with the ‘600’ number which is usually associated with barcodes for products made in South Africa.

Phetho Ntaba, spokesperson for the NCC, says the NCC proactively engaged the Coca-Cola company to seek clarity on the matter.

Coca-Cola then issued a statement to explain, saying that Valpré is bottled from a source at Lagerspoort in Heidelberg, South Africa. The company said that It carries the barcode 5449000107664 which is part of the GS1 system, an international standard for product tracking, to identify and track its products.

Ntaba says Coca-Cola further explained that the company uses internationally acquired GS1 barcodes and those acquired in South Africa for their products produced in South Africa. Therefore, according to Coca-Cola, the bar-coding system is not entirely used to identify the country of origin of its products.

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Consumers must know where products are made – CPA

Section 55 of the Consumer Protection Act requires suppliers to supply goods that are safe and of good quality and if goods are imported into South Africa they must have a label permanently affixed that clearly indicates the country of origin in terms of section 24(5) of the Act.

“Consumers are advised to look out for information such as a list of ingredients, date markings (including expiry dates) and country of origin when authenticating fast moving goods.”

Hardin Ratshisusu, acting commissioner of the NCC, says Coca-Cola’s statement clarifies the confusion that might have been created by using different coding systems.

“As the country grapples with foodborne illnesses, it is important for suppliers to promptly respond to questions about the labelling of foodstuffs, especially when the authenticity of products is questioned.

“The NCC urges suppliers to step up efforts to educate consumers about the use of coding systems, especially considering the increase of foodborne illnesses in the country.”

Coca-Cola also added in its statement that it is working with the NCC and other industry partners through GS1 South Africa (GS1ZA) a division of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), to raise awareness and address any confusion related to barcode identification.

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CGCSA explains barcodes

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) said earlier this month that 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, the 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 said.

Companies in South Africa using the GS1 barcodes issued by GS1 South Africa are assigned a prefix based on the country code. For example, South African member companies have prefixes of 600 while for example, companies in the UK have prefixes that start with 500 – 509.

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Barcode number can also show where company is registered

“While locally produced products are assigned the 600 prefix barcodes, there are nevertheless other imported products with different barcode prefixes. The fact that a product barcode prefix does not start with 600 does not make it counterfeit or illicit.

The CGCSA explains that each company gets a special number (called a GS1 Prefix) that appears in its barcodes. This number can show where the company is registered, but it does not tell you where the product was actually made. For example, a company could be based in China, but its products may be made in South Africa or another country.