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McDonalds Japan places QR Codes on Big Macs

16 September 2006 by axxxr
McDonald’s is now placing QR codes on the packaging of many foods so that eaters can scan the package with their phones and find out the nutritional information.

Known as a QR Code, these printed codes look somewhat like a barcode and are scannable by many Camera phones. All sorts of information can be packed into these little codes, from the website to find the amount of calories and fat in a Big Mac to a company’s contact information on a business card.

The codes were originally developed in Japan in 1994 to track parts for automobile manufacturers. Now they have taken off with the ubiquity of camera phones that can easily scan and pick up data from the two-dimensional symbols. The main purpose for QR Codes is to automatically input information into a phone (such as the data from a business card) without having to type it in.

People who don’t have camera phones don’t have to live in worry that they’re getting too much saturated fat without knowing it. The company has also set up short, easy-on-the-thumb URLs so people can look up the nutritional information on the food they’re about to consume. You can see the QR Codes and the URLs for each food item here, although the web pages will only load if you are connecting from a Mobile phone in Japan. source: calorielab


 





Comments
On 17 Sep 21:48 drlau9 wrote
They should make that standard on all packaging and create a software on the phone that can playback on the product info/ cooking instructions possibly make it interactive. Also blind people can get the benefits from the audio read out of the product they are about to buy.

Dr.
On 17 Sep 09:58 jasond wrote
Hm. Yes and no.

I think the QR codes are a fantastic idea. And I think that if information can be shared more easily, then that is fantastic.

I don't however feel that using a QR code to make learning nutrient information a more involved task is entirely justifiable.
On 17 Sep 08:23 chatterbox wrote
that is so true. I mean who wants to get their phone messy... or advertise the fact you care so much... look the idea is all to time consuming... back in 94we had plenty for time... but now we don't. we are always rushing and doing other things! take predictive text. if it wasn't for that it wouldn't be one of the most convienent things... I could never be asked in multitap... also u would be suprized how many people can text with their eyes closed in under a min...

newspapers or internet?

you wanna find out what's going on in the world?
do you walk to the shop and buy a newspaper? or do you just find out what u want from the internet?
On 17 Sep 06:40 mcrosser wrote
can't they just put exactly what they're ofering to consumers ??

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