GHBS‐13 as an enhanced EAN‐13 barcode module for monitoring processed consumable products in Ghana

When it comes to tracking goods from manufacturers to consumers, barcodes are useful instruments for monitoring and certifying their legitimacy. Because of its capacity to self‐validate all generated codes, the EAN‐13 is the most extensively used barcode for processed consumable products. Further investigations into the construction of the EAN‐13 barcode revealed that several additional components were required to make the EAN‐13 more credible for consumer use. Country code, production code, product code, and check digit make up the present EAN‐13 format. Meanwhile, the type of product and the number of times it has been manufactured are key components that must be included in the EAN‐13 barcode structure for barcode analysts to interpret. The study presented the GHBS‐13, an upgraded barcode structure that captured the two new components, namely, the product type and production count. The paper proposed a universal method called Tabiri Check Digit as a mathematical means of easily computing the check digit of the two barcodes. The formula was validated using EAN‐13 and GHBS‐13 barcodes, and the results were correct. The study also established a central point platform for customers to use to validate processed consumable products they buy in Ghana. The lack of systems to enable consumers effectively validate processed consumables, resulted in their inability to do so. With the introduction of the product assurance android mobile application and the GHBarcodes web application, consumers can now easily check the originality of all processed consumables they purchase using the enhanced EAN‐13 barcode, thus GHBS‐13 barcode.