Lot Numbers and Traceability for Small Confectionery Producers
Set up lot numbers and one-step-back, one-step-forward traceability for a small confectionery kitchen: what counts as a lot, what each batch record needs, how to mark the pack under EU rules, and how to rehearse a recall.
What Counts as a Lot
A customer reports grit in a box of caramels. A supplier recalls one lot of couverture for undeclared hazelnut. In both cases the question is the same: which of my products are affected, and where did they go? A lot number is the shortest path to that answer.
EU law defines a lot as “a batch of sales units of a foodstuff produced, manufactured or packaged under practically the same conditions” (Directive 2011/91/EU, Article 1). For a small kitchen that usually means one cook of one recipe, or one packing session of one product. The smaller the lot, the less you have to pull back when something goes wrong; the larger the lot, the less paperwork you keep.
Draw the lot boundary where conditions change
Start a new lot whenever something that could affect safety or quality changes: a new opened lot of cream or couverture, a different day, a second cook of the same recipe, or a change of packing line. If a filling is made on Monday and enrobed on Wednesday, the filling and the finished piece each get their own lot, and the finished lot records which filling lot went into it.
The law places the lot decision with you. Article 3 of the Directive says the lot is determined by the producer, manufacturer or packager of the food, or by the first seller established in the EU, and the lot indication is affixed under that operator’s responsibility.
The Batch Record Behind Each Lot
The lot number on the pack is only useful if it points to a record. That record does not need software: a bound notebook with numbered pages, a spreadsheet or a printed batch sheet all work, provided every lot has one and nobody fills it in from memory a week later.
Recipe and version
Name the exact recipe version you produced from. If you are still adjusting a formula, freeze the version before production so the record describes what was actually made.
Date and batch size
Record the production date and the target batch size. Scale every ingredient from the reference recipe and keep the scaled list with the record; it is also your weighing checklist.
Lot number, assigned before cooking
Assign the lot number when you open the record, not afterwards. Write it on the prep tray, the cooling frame and every label that will leave the kitchen.
Incoming ingredient lots
Copy the supplier's lot code, or the best-before date if there is no lot code, for every ingredient that came from a business: couverture, cream, nuts, purées, glucose, flavourings. This is the 'one step back' link.
Where the output went
For every business customer (a shop, café, caterer or distributor) note the lot, quantity and delivery date. Sales to the final consumer do not need names. This is the 'one step forward' link.
Yield and deviations
Weigh the saleable output, compare it with the expected yield, and note anything that differed from the recipe.
Recording Actual Yield
Theoretical yield is what the recipe predicts from its input weights; actual yield is what you weigh after evaporation, trimming and handling losses. Divide actual by theoretical and multiply by 100 to get yield efficiency. One figure tells you little; the same figure tracked across many lots shows whether a process is drifting, and it ties a complaint to a specific production run.
Yield also closes the traceability loop. If a lot produced 2.4 kg and the delivery notes account for 1.9 kg, you know 0.5 kg went over the counter or is still in stock, which tells you where to look during a recall.
Notes worth recording for every lot
Beyond lot number and yield, these notes take a couple of minutes and turn a complaint six weeks later into a diagnosable event:
- Temperature deviations: cream reached 95°C instead of 85°C; tempering bowl re-seeded mid-batch
- Substitutions: glucose DE42 instead of DE60; cream from a different supplier
- Timing changes: cooked three minutes longer to reach the target temperature
- Quality observations: surface slightly grainy; centres softer than usual
- Rejects: one tray discarded, with the reason
Choosing a Lot Number Format
A good lot number is unique, sortable and readable without a lookup table. A date followed by a daily sequence does all three.
Recommended lot number format
Use a date-based prefix followed by a sequential counter for the day:
YYYYMMDD-NNN (e.g., 20261009-001, 20261009-002)
The format sorts chronologically in any spreadsheet and shows at a glance when a product was made. If you run several product families, add a short product code: GAN-20261009-001 for ganache, CAR-20261009-001 for caramel. Avoid bare sequential numbers (batch 1, batch 2): after a few years they cannot be interpreted without a separate log.
How the lot appears on the pack is set by the same Directive. The indication must be “easily visible, clearly legible and indelible” (Article 4), and it is preceded by the letter L unless it is clearly distinguishable from the other indications on the label (Article 3). For prepacked food it goes on the pack or on a label attached to it.
| Situation | Lot mark needed? | Where the rule sits |
|---|---|---|
| Prepacked box sold in a shop, online or wholesale | Yes, on the pack or an attached label | Directive 2011/91/EU, Article 2(1) and Article 4, first paragraph |
| Loose pieces sold to the final consumer, packed at the customer's request, or prepacked for immediate sale | No | Article 2(2)(b) |
| Pack whose largest side is under 10 cm², such as a single wrapped piece | No on the small pack; an outer box sold as a prepack needs its own lot (Art. 2(1)) | Article 2(2)(c) |
| Individual portions of ice cream | Not on each portion; the lot goes on the combined package | Article 2(2)(d) |
| Label already shows a best-before or use-by date with at least the uncoded day and month, in that order | The date can serve instead of a separate lot | Article 5 |
When EU rules require a lot indication on confectionery
The date route in Article 5 is convenient but blunt. If you cook the same product twice on one day with the same best-before date, the date cannot tell the two lots apart, so a problem in one forces you to recall both. When batches share a date, print a lot number as well.
One Step Back, One Step Forward
Traceability is a legal duty for every food business in the EU. Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 18, requires you to be able to identify any person from whom you have been supplied with a food or an ingredient, and to have systems and procedures to identify the other businesses to which your products have been supplied, with that information available to the authorities on demand. Article 18 also requires food placed on the market to be adequately labelled or identified to facilitate its traceability.
The one-step-back, one-step-forward rule
You must be able to name your immediate suppliers (one step back, also called one step up) and your immediate business customers (one step forward, or one step down). You are not required to trace sales to final consumers. A lot number links the two: the batch record lists the incoming ingredient lots, and the delivery records list the business customers who received that lot.
The practical value goes beyond compliance. Take the grit complaint from the opening: with a lot number you open that lot’s record and check the cook temperature, which glucose lot was used and whether the caramels were stored warm or humid. Without it you can only apologise and guess.
Now take the supplier recall. With ingredient lots in your batch records, you find every one of your lots that used the affected couverture, and from the delivery records every shop that received them, in minutes. Without them, the only safe action is to withdraw everything made in the period, which costs far more in stock and reputation.
Article 19 of the same Regulation sets what happens next. If you consider or have reason to believe that a food you produced or distributed does not comply with food safety requirements, you must immediately start withdrawing it where it has left your immediate control and inform the competent authority. Where it may have reached consumers, you must tell them why it is being withdrawn and, if other measures are not enough, recall it from them.
Pick a real lot at random
Choose a finished lot from last month and pretend a supplier has recalled one of its ingredients.
Trace one step back
From the batch record, list the supplier and lot code of every ingredient. Note any ingredient where the record is missing or illegible.
Trace one step forward
From delivery notes and invoices, list every business customer that received the lot, with quantities. Check that delivered quantity plus counter sales plus stock adds up to the recorded yield.
Fix the gaps
Time the exercise and write down what slowed you down. Change the batch sheet or the delivery note so the same gap cannot recur, then repeat the drill on another lot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a batch number and a lot number?
Do I need to print a lot number on my packaging?
Do I have to record which customer bought each box?
How do I handle a filling made on one day and finished on another?
What should I do with a lot that fails quality control?
Does this apply outside the EU?
Related Topics
Related Articles
Confectionery Shelf-Life Testing: Plan Your First Study
Build a retention-sample plan for a filled chocolate: choose checkpoints, calculate the packs needed, and record results without confusing a trial target with a validated date.
How to Cost a Confectionery Recipe: Price per Gram to Food Cost %
Cost a confectionery recipe by hand: price per gram, yield loss, cost per piece, food cost percentage, markup versus margin and break-even, worked through on a batch of dark ganache truffles.
Scaling Recipes for Production: From Lab Batch to Commercial Run
A practical guide to scaling confectionery recipes from 500 g test batches to 50 kg production runs. Covers what scales linearly, what does not, equipment planning, and process parameter adjustment.