Summer Sun Winery
Kirbyville, Texas
A Company that uses a UPC code
IS NOT
always the same company that actually manufactured the product.
While the abbreviation "UPC" stands for "Universal Product Code", GS1 standards calls it the "Global Trade Item Number", or abbreviated as "GTIN".
The "UPC" code number can be searched at:
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https://gepir.gs1.org/index.php/search-by-gtin
This only tells you what Company has the exclusive rights to use that UPC (GTIN) code and their physical address, NOT WHERE THE PRODUCT WAS MANUFACTURED.
Instead, look closely at the product label: if it says "Distributed by", that company DID NOT actually manufacture the product, they merely purchase a product from another company that could be located anywhere in the world, apply a 'private label', then market and sell the product under their company name. In regards to wine, if it says "Bottled by", the company listed under those words on the bottle did NOT actually make the wine. If it says "Produced & Bottled by", the company listed is the one that actually made and bottled the wine, which is what we do! And we use our own Family Farm blueberries, too! You can see what our labels look like by clicking here.
Companies pay a yearly fee for exclusive rights to use the numbers assigned to their product(s). There are several different systems for different Countries around the world. GS1 is the most requested system used by our suppliers and buyers here in Texas, USA, therefore, it is the system we adopted for our Family Blueberry farms many years ago, and continue to use within our Winery.
It is quite an intricate system, with numerous sets of tracking numbers, each set with it's own name. Each set of numbers provides a different set of information for each point of use. The information is used for tracking shipments worldwide (from an entire shipping containers contents, a pallet, or a single case), to tracking stock and supplies within companies, at the register for the final purchaser, and many points in between. The system can even be used to track what day an item was made, the exact time of day down to the second, and which employee(s) were involved in the process!
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Summer Sun Winery has exclusive rights to every
GTIN (UPC) on our labels.
This information is based solely on our understanding of GS1 Standards, the US Government Standards of Labeling (COLA) and TABC Labeling requirements, and may not be applicable to any other Standards used by other coding organizations or Governments. If you have better knowledge or understanding of these Standards, please email me here with links for further study. Thank You!