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GTIN
Colloquially, many know GTIN as a barcode, but technically, GTIN is the number found beneath the barcode symbol itself, and can therefore also be used for other technologies such as 2D barcodes and RFID tags.
Colloquially, many know GTIN as a barcode, but technically, GTIN is the number found beneath the barcode symbol itself, and can therefore also be used for other technologies such as 2D barcodes and RFID tags.
In total, in Denmark we throw out over 700,000 tons of food every year. That can be changed with clever use of barcodes in retail.
Definition of food waste: Food waste is food that could have been eaten but instead has been thrown out. Source: Environmental Protection Agency, report “Mapping food waste in the service sector — Retail trade, restaurants and kitchens” — figures from 2014
Food waste costs Danes 11.6 billion kroner a year including VAT and taxes. Source: Agriculture & Food - figures from 2014
When barcodes are to help reduce food waste in retail, they must contain at least a GTIN item number and an expiry date.
When a product's expiration date approaches, the price can be automatically reduced the moment the barcode is scanned in the exit box. The price reduction can happen gradually, depending on how close the product is to the expiration date.
This is an advantage for the store, which does not have to manually label the products. For the consumer, the price reduction provides an incentive to buy products close to the expiration date. And it will reduce the amount of expired food, which is discarded in the store.
With the registration of the date, it also becomes possible to keep track of which products with which expiration dates are on the shelves of the store. This allows retailers to make better forecasts for producers, who can adjust production volumes more accurately.
What do they look like? There are two dynamic GS1 barcode types: GS1 DataMatrix and GS1 DataBar.
GS1 DataMatrix can contain up to 3,116 numeric or 2,335 alpha numeric character. It can contain many different information, such as GTIN part number, expiration date, weight and batch number. The GS1 DataMatrix is a 2D barcode, and this means that it requires a camera-based scanner at the exit box to scan this type of barcode. It also requires an expansion of the databases in the checkout terminals before a date can be recorded. GS1 DataMatrix is a robust symbol that can be scanned even if some of the symbol is damaged. Minimum size of the symbol approx. 4.2 mm x 4.2 mm.
The GS1 DataBar can contain up to 338 numeric or 196 alpha numeric characters. Like GS1 DataMatrix, it can contain many different information, such as GTIN part number, expiration date, weight and batch number.GS1 DataBar can be scanned with the scanners that already exist in the output boxes. It requires (like GS1 DataMatrix) an expansion of the databases in the box terminals before a date can be recorded. The GS1 DataBar can also be scanned with a camera-based scanner. Minimum size of the symbol 28,05 mm x 19,3 mm.
In total, in Denmark we throw out over 700,000 tonnes of food each year — of this comes: 163,000 tonnes from retail, 133,000 tonnes from the food industry. Source: Ministry of the Environment, Government Strategy for Waste Prevention “Denmark Without Waste II” — figures from 2015
The biggest food waste culprits are: Dinner leftovers, vegetables, bread, cakes, fruit, dairy products and cold cuts.
Source: Agriculture and Food, 2015
Automatic price reduction as the sell-by date approaches gives consumers incentive to buy - and it makes the store have to discard less.
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