View source for Template:Ean description

The International Article Number (also known as '''European Article Number''' or '''EAN''') is a standard describing a barcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configuration, from a specific manufacturer. The standard has been subsumed in the Global Trade Item Number standard from the GS1 organization; the same numbers can be referred to as GTINs and can be encoded in other barcode symbologies defined by GS1. EAN barcodes are used worldwide for lookup at retail point of sale, but can also be used as numbers for other purposes such as wholesale ordering or accounting.

Which information is included in an EAN?
The EAN includes the country of origin, the manufacturer and a product number. In addition to that it includes a checksum.