Can UPC Barcodes Tell You Where a Product Was Made?

I received an email from a friend over the weekend telling me how I can shop only American Made products. It basically says that the first 3 digits of a UPC Barcode can tell you what country the product was made in. Fiction or Non-Fiction?

You might have seen this email, it looks a little something like this:

All bar codes that start with 690, 691, 692, thru 695 are MADE IN CHINA.

Bar code items starting with 471 are Made in Taiwan like this one:

Chinese businessmen know that American consumers don't prefer products 'Made in China ', so they don't show from which country it originates any longer.However, you may now refer to the barcode. Remember if the first 3 digits are in the range 690-695, then it is Made in China .

00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA

30 ~ 37 FRANCE

40 ~ 44 GERMANY

49 ~ JAPAN

50 ~ UK

57 ~ Denmark

64 ~ Finland

76 ~ Switzerland & Lienchtenstein

471 ~ Taiwan

480 ~ Philippines

628 ~ Saudi Arabia

629 ~ UAE (United Arab Emirates)

740-745 ~ Central America

After doing a little research I found that this is actually false. I have looked at a bunch of random products from China and the United States of America and have found some inconsistencies. I have found a few products from China that start with 607 and 407. For the most part, the products made in the USA usually do start with a '0'.

I have also read a few different articles online that say this email if false. But once again, I don't believe everything I read on the internet.

So I need you to do a little homework. If your sitting at your desk at work or at home, find a something with a barcode, find out where it says its made, and compare it to the list above. Do they match up? Does the coding really work? Let us know by commenting below.