CPMA and PMA announce plan to end issuing of generic UPCs

The following is excerpted from a 13 November 2019 release by the Produce Marketing Association

As of December 31st, 2019, Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and Produce Marketing Association (PMA) will no longer issue new generic UPCs.  Instead, both organizations will support the industry in adopting brand owner (company-specific) UPCs for North American produce. The decision to end the issuing of generic UPCs is at the direction and influence of the industry, including the PMA Produce ID committee and the Romaine Task Force, who identified the elimination of generic UPCs as a best practice in their recommendations released this year.

The use of brand owner-specific UPCs or Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) captures the brand owner and product identification while also providing a number of benefits including the globally unique identification of fresh produce.  The use of brand owner-specific GTINs improves category management, increases inventory accuracy, enhances traceability efforts which support the food safety system, and facilitates a more effective produce recall approach. It is important to note that this change does not impact floral products. 

“There are a variety of benefits for retailers when our suppliers convert from generic UPCs to company-specific UPCs,“ said Produce Commodity Coordinator at The Kroger Co., Harlan Ewert. “Company-specific UPCs provide us with better data to make meaningful decisions in our business. For example, they enable retailers to differentiate between brands of products in the same category and determine sell-through and shrink data by brand.”

While CPMA and PMA will no longer issue generic UPCs, this will not impact the current use of existing generic UPCs. The transition away from the use of generic UPCs to brand owner-specific GTINs only will be more long-term and will be determined with industry partnership…