How do barcodes in items found in shops work? And how are they registered?
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There is an international organization, called GS1. They assign 13 digit numbers, called GTINs. These numbers are printed on barcodes, they are unique for each product.
The first 3 digits of GTIN is a country code. When a country joins GS1, they get this 3 digits. Then they can sell numbers starting with this digits to companies: both local and foreign. Yes, the country code doesn’t need to correspond with the place where the product is made – it is absolutely legal to buy a number in one country , but use it in another!
When the company buys the code, they can print it on their product, send it to others, etc.
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