Are barcodes that begin with '729' products from Israel, as BDS advocates claim?

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Are barcodes that begin with '729' products from Israel, as BDS advocates claim?  In a bid to encourage a boycott against Israeli goods, online users, including French MEP Manon Aubry, have relayed a claim alleging that barcodes beginning with the digits "729" are produced in Israel – but this is not entirely accurate.   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/10/15/are-barcodes-that-begin-with-729-products-from-israel-as-bds-advocates-claim  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Are products with barcodes starting in 729 made in Israel?

00:07E.C.'s fire deal agreed by Israel and Hamas in early October is unlikely to dispel long-standing calls for the boycott of Israeli products.

00:16The global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement was launched in 2005 by Palestinian civil society organizations.

00:24It denounces Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories and supports the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

00:31The BDS movement supports the boycott of Israeli-linked corporations as well as Israeli academics and cultural institutions.

00:39Critics have branded this strategy as discriminatory collective punishment for the Israeli government's actions.

00:46Others have qualified it as anti-Semitic.

00:48Tensions between Israel's government and MEPs have previously been spurred by boycott calls.

00:54French MEP Manon Aubry, co-leader of the left in the European Parliament,

00:59relayed an online claim alleging that items beginning of the digits 729 are produced in Israel.

01:05But is there any basis for these claims?

01:08GS1, the organization which monitors international standards for barcodes,

01:12told The Cube that barcode numbers do not identify a product's country of origin.

01:17Instead, the first three numbers of a GS1 barcode indicate which GS1 member organization a company is affiliated with.

01:25These 729 digits correspond to the Israeli branch of GS1.

01:29However, companies across the world can choose any of the 120 GS1 member organizations they want to be affiliated with,

01:37regardless of where they are based or where they manufacture products.

01:40This means that although many Israeli companies are likely to use this code,

01:45products are not necessarily produced there.

01:48Israeli companies are also free to affiliate with another GS1 member organization,

01:53which could allow them to circumvent boycotts.

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