Calling this a Case History is misleading—an actual occurrence happening now best demonstrates the importance of the impending replacement of the UPC.

On June 2, Costco announced a voluntary recall of Topco Chico Mineral Water. This is a Coca-Cola product, which initiated the recall when they detected a potential contamination of Lot Code #13A2541.

Kudos to Coke, which took the initiative, and the recall is limited to a specific batch. Remember the Tylenol fiasco. Obviously, prevention would have been the optimal approach. But there is also room for improvement in alerting the supply chain and notifying the public. The last line of defense is the front line—the checkout at the retail outlet.

Currently, critical information such as expiration date and lot or batch number is required to be imprinted on the retail package of certain products—the critical information is there, but only if the consumer voluntarily decides to look for it and read it. The barcode is a totally separate, unencumbered entity. The UPC only provides product identification for a price lookup and inventory control.

In 2027, this will all change with the introduction of Digital Link, a QR Code variation with the ability to encode a wide range of data linked to product identification. Digital Link will encode product identification, but has the data capacity to include time-critical data such as a last-minute recall of a specific lot or batch. And not just to include the date, but to abort the transaction. The checkout will really be the last line of defense.

Like the venerable UPC, the new Digital Like barcode will appear on a wide variety of products, not just groceries and pharmaceuticals and not just recalls.  Digital Link can do much more:

• Recall of choke-hazard toys and toy parts
• Recall of shock-hazards or defects in electrical appliances and tools
• Recipe suggestions and nutritional data on food items
• Recycling information about products and packaging
• Links to user guides and assembly instructions
• Promotional information on time-limited events or offerings

Today, product recalls take time. The notification of the Topco Chico Mineral Water recall was yesterday at 7 PM. I could have stopped at the local store, bought the product, and consumed it by the time I got home.

A parting thought. Barcodes have been in daily use for over 50 years. Nothing has replaced them because they continue to adapt, evolve and find new relevance.

Barcodes can literally save lives—and improve them too. But only if the barcodes work right. We can help with that. Contact us here.