Herbal Products Batch Record (Free Excel Template)

An herbal products batch record is the written account of one batch of a tea, tincture, capsule or blend: the master record it followed, each herb with its supplier lot and the weight actually used, who weighed it and who checked, the inspections and checks along the way, the batch code on the finished product, the yield against what the batch should have made, and who released it. If your products are sold as dietary supplements, FDA's rule says exactly what the record must contain. If they're sold as teas, no rule prescribes the form, but a stockist or an insurer asking for batch records wants the same thing. Below is what to include, a tea batch filled in, and a free Excel template.

The short version

• One record per batch, made as you go, following a master record with a version number.
• Every herb: the supplier's lot, the target and actual weight, and initials for who weighed, verified, added and verified the addition.
• Inspect each herb before it goes in: foreign matter, mold, smell. Write down what you found, even "none".
• Count what you filled against the theoretical, and investigate anything below your minimum before you release it.
• Supplements: FDA's rule (21 CFR part 111) sets the contents. Teas sold as food: use the same shape anyway.
• TaroStack takes each herb from its lot when you record a batch, and notes which. More below.

Food, supplement or something else

The same dried herb can be a food, a dietary supplement, a cosmetic or a drug, depending on how it's labeled and sold. A māmaki tea sold as a drink is a food. The same leaf in capsules labeled as a dietary supplement falls under FDA's supplement manufacturing rule, part 111. A salve is usually a cosmetic, unless its claims make it a drug. Which one you make decides which rules apply, so it's worth settling with someone who knows your products. This is general information, not legal advice.

What the supplement rule requires

For a dietary supplement, you must prepare a batch production record every time you make a batch, it must follow the master manufacturing record, and you must perform every step (21 CFR 111.255). The record must include, among other things (21 CFR 111.260):

The master manufacturing record sets the minimum and maximum percentages of theoretical yield outside which a batch must be investigated, and requires, for manual work, one person to weigh or add each component and another to verify it (21 CFR 111.210). Before use, each dietary ingredient's identity needs at least one test or examination of your own (21 CFR 111.75), and for a dried, cut botanical that test takes some planning. Records are kept for 1 year past the shelf life date, or 2 years after the last batch they cover was distributed (21 CFR 111.605).

The batch record, filled in

Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, also packs a māmaki and lemongrass tea, sold as a drink, in 2 oz (57 g) pouches. It isn't a supplement, but the owner keeps the supplement rule's shape because a stockist asked and because it costs nothing extra. Batch TEA-260930-A, September 30, 2026, 5,000 g, master record v1:

Of the 5,002 g that went in, 85 pouches hold 4,845 g, so 157 g, about 3%, stayed behind as dust in the drum and fines at the bottom of the bin. That's normal for a cut-leaf blend, and the yield line is what tells you it's normal. If the next batch comes in at 90%, something changed, and the record shows which lots, which people and which steps to look at.

Get the template

Download the herbal products batch record. It has this batch filled in: the targets worked out from the blend percentages, the four initials per component, the checks, and the yield compared with your minimum. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, it prints on one page, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.

Target (g)            =C10 * $B$5
Theoretical pouches   =ROUNDDOWN(E14 / B6, 0)
At least the minimum? =IF(B24>=B7, "Yes", "No: investigate before release")

A batch record follows a master record; the difference is in master batch record vs batch record, and the general shape in what is a batch record. The supplier's certificate behind each herb is covered in certificate of analysis tracking.

Where this stops working

The record above knows the māmaki came from lot MAM-0918. Nothing else does. If the supplier writes in November to say that lot had a problem, someone has to find every batch record since September that mentions it, then every invoice for every one of those batches, then count what's still on the shelf. And the herb itself: a spreadsheet can't tell you how much of MAM-0918 is left, whether the next batch should use it or the newer lot first, or what this batch cost now that dried māmaki went up in price.

How TaroStack does it

In TaroStack the blend is a recipe, versioned, so the batch records which version it followed. Recording a batch takes each herb from its lot, soonest expiry first unless you choose otherwise, and notes which lot and how much, so nobody copies lot codes off a bag. The printable batch-record form carries your own checklist fields: the inspection, the fill weights, the weighed-by and verified-by initials, and a sign-off. The 85 pouches become a lot of their own with a best-by date and the batch code on the label.

Then a supplier's notice about MAM-0918 is one recall report: every batch it went into, every stockist who received those pouches, and what's still on your own shelves. Stock of each herb is kept by lot, so you can see what's left of each and what's close to its date. Each batch is costed from what it actually used, and your own batch history shows whether the blend really yields what the recipe says.

One honest note for supplement makers: FDA requires electronic records under part 111 to meet part 11, and TaroStack isn't sold as a part 11 system. Keep the signed, printed batch form as your official record; TaroStack keeps the lots, the stock and the trace behind it.

Lots, expiry and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month; recipes and batch records are on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, and your herbs, suppliers and blends import from a spreadsheet. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

What is a batch production record for dietary supplements?

The record FDA's supplement rule requires for every batch: the batch number, equipment and cleaning, each component's identity, lot and weight with four sets of initials, monitoring and test results, the actual and theoretical yield, and quality control's review and release (21 CFR 111.260).

Do herbal teas need batch records?

A tea sold as a food isn't under the supplement rule, and no federal rule prescribes a batch record form for it. A batch record is still how you trace a complaint or a supplier's recall to the right pouches, and stockists and insurers ask for them.

How long do you keep supplement batch records?

One year past the shelf life date if you use one, or two years after the last batch they cover was distributed (21 CFR 111.605).

Why four sets of initials?

The rule asks for one person to weigh or measure each component and another to verify it, and one person to add it and another to verify the addition. In a two-person workshop, that's each of you checking the other.