Come Jan. 1, 2005, U.S. and Canadian retailers must be able to accept new bar codes or risk having their computers crash.

The change from the standard 12-digit Universal Product Code system, introduced more than 30 years ago, will facilitate business with countries that use the EAN.UCC system, according to the Uniform Code Council Inc. (Lawrenceville, N.J.). The council announced the initiative, named 2005 Sunrise, in 1997 to allow U.S and Canadian companies ample time to address all conversion issues, which requires retailers and distributors to expand their old bar code systems, databases and related applications.

As of January, all U.S. and Canadian companies must be capable of scanning and processing EAN-8 and EAN-13 symbols, in addition to 12-digit UPC symbols, at point of sale.

Retail products from countries other than the United States and Canada are marked with EAN-8 and EAN-13 symbols. To sell those products in the United States or Canada, manufacturers must re-label with a 12-digit UPC symbol, creating additional expense and time-to-market issues.

By expanding their systems’ capability to scan and process EAN-8 and EAN-13 symbols, U.S. and Canadian companies will be able to handle a greater range of products.

According to the council, the number of products identified with EAN-8 and EAN-13 symbols will increase quickly after Jan. 1, 2005, because new companies will no longer be issued UCC company prefixes.

For information about Sunrise 2005 compliance, visit www.uc-council.org/2005sunrise. [December 2004 PET AGE]