February 25, 2025 Industry news
The GS1 General Specifications is the foundational GS1 standard which defines how identification keys, data attributes and barcodes must be used in business applications. Each year, the specifications are updated* to ensure they continue to meet evolving industry needs and changes to regulations. In January, the new version (version 25.0) was released and offers improved clarity and efficiency for businesses across various sectors.
Here are some of the key updates relevant to members and partners.
Healthcare
- Master UDI: A new standard to meet identification requirements for EUDAMED, the European Commission’s IT systems for medical regulation - the Master UDI. Rules and guidelines on when and how to use a Master UDI can be found in section 2.6.17
- An update to the glossary to provide a definition of medical device product family
Cross industry
- 2D verification report: an update to reflect current language and usage in the context of the evolution of adoption of 2D barcodes in retail
- UN/CEFACT freight unit type: sections 2.6.15 and 3.8.18 outline standards around inclusion of the UN/CEFACT freight unit type in a logistics label
- Online list of Application Identifiers: as part of moves towards making the General Specifications available in more effective and convenient digital formats, there is now a searchable online list of Application Identifiers: https://ref.gs1.org/ai/
