Lot traceability is the ability to link a finished food product lot to all raw material lots used in its production, and to trace finished product lots to all customers who received them. Lot traceability is a core requirement of all food safety standards (GFSI, FSMA, EU FIC) and enables rapid, targeted product recalls.
Lot Code Assignment
A lot code (or batch code) is a unique identifier assigned to a group of food products produced under the same conditions. Lot codes typically encode the production date, production line, and shift. Lot codes must be printed on all packaging and must be maintained in production records.
One-Up, One-Down Traceability
The minimum traceability requirement for most food safety standards is "one-up, one-down" traceability: the ability to identify the immediate supplier of each raw material and the immediate customer for each finished product lot. One-up, one-down traceability enables targeted recalls but may not be sufficient for complex, multi-ingredient products.