The transition to QR codes that Mercadona, Carrefour, and Lidl are requiring of their suppliers has reached Alimentaria FoodTech.

SACMI presents PackVision, a visual inspection system that already reads and verifies the QR code (GS1 Digital Link) on the production line, in preparation for the 2027 global standard.

The biggest barcode transition in half a century has a date: 2027. The GS1 Digital Link standard replaces the traditional EAN-13 barcode with a QR code able to carry batch, expiry date, traceability and a link to the product. Retailers such as Mercadona, Carrefour, Lidl, Alcampo and Eroski have already begun the transition and are starting to pass the requirement on to their suppliers.

This shift, known as GS1 Sunrise 2027, poses an immediate challenge for the food industry: adapting production lines to read and verify the new codes. In this context, SACMI presents PackVision at Alimentaria FoodTech (Fira de Barcelona, 6-8 October), a 100% in-line visual inspection system that already performs this reading in industrial production.

An already operational answer

PackVision inspects every pack without slowing down production and detects defects that escape human visual control: contaminants in the seal, sealing defects, missing or misplaced labels, incorrect batches and wrong expiry dates. It identifies the defective product and rejects it before it reaches the shelf.

Its key advantage ahead of 2027 is the simultaneous reading of EAN and QR codes (GS1 Digital Link), already functional in industrial installations.

"The barcode's days are numbered, and many production lines still aren't ready. PackVision doesn't promise to read QR in a future version: it already does, today, in production. When retailers pass the requirement on to their suppliers, adapting in a rush will be costly. We're already prepared," says Pedro Ortega, Marketing Manager at SACMI.

Support in Spain

As part of the SACMI group, it has an in-house technical team in Spain and Portugal, spare parts within 24 hours and a testing laboratory in Castellón, where manufacturers can check the system with their own packaging.

SACMI at Alimentaria FoodTech 2026
Hall 2 · Stand D517
6-8 October · Fira de Barcelona, Recinto Gran Via