2D barcodes from GS1 key to improving food waste and safety outcomes in New Zealand

2D barcodes, or QR codes, are small but powerful. These new GS1-compliant codes will go ‘beep’ at the point-of-sale and also can capture and link flexibly to trusted data for businesses, regulators, consumers, and patients alike, offering much more than just static links to webpages. They can tell a product’s “story”, where it comes from, if it contains allergens, is organic, how it can be recycled - and what its environmental footprint is. This new level of transparency, scannable via a smartphone, will help consumers make smart decisions about what they buy and use.

An Australasian retailer has already reported a reduction in food waste of up to 40% and is able to block the sale of expired products at the point of sale.

Dr. Peter Stevens, CEO of GS1 New Zealand, says: “The familiar ‘stripy’ GS1 barcodes on most products have served us well for 50 years. GS1 2D barcodes are really exciting because the technology enables other information to be put into the barcode. This could be a best-before date, batch information critical to a retailer or even a web link that dynamically can provide information directly off the pack to the consumer (eg, nutrition or allergen information, recycling information).”

“New Zealand Food Safety is supporting the rollout of 2D barcodes as a critical step in strengthening supply chain processes to ensure consumer food safety and reduce food waste” says New Zealand Food Safety Deputy Director-General Vincent Arbuckle. “The new 2D barcodes are an exciting innovation that will add a valuable layer of food-safety protection for New Zealand consumers. Recalled products will be able to be removed from shelves even more swiftly and affected products can be blocked at the point of sale. The 2D barcodes have also been shown to reduce food waste, addressing another key concern for consumers.”