A food product specification sheet is the technical description of a product: what it is and which version, its ingredients and allergens, its net weight and how much it may vary, what it should look and feel like, any chemical limits like moisture or pH, its shelf life and storage, how it's coded and dated, and how it's packed, from the unit to the pallet. Distributors, store buyers and co-packers ask for one because it's the standard every delivery is held to. It isn't a sales document; the price and the story go on a sell sheet. It also needs a version, because a spec sheet that describes last year's recipe is worse than none. In the example below, a spec sheet for taro chips sets a 142 g minimum against a 145 g target fill, moisture of no more than 2%, 90 days of shelf life with 60 on delivery, and the lot and date format on every bag. Below is what to include, the example, how it differs from a sell sheet, keeping it current, and a free template.
The short version
- Identity: the product, a description, and the spec's own version and date.
- Ingredients in order, allergens it contains, and allergens handled in the facility.
- Net weight declared, the target fill, and the lowest acceptable weight.
- Physical and chemical specifications you can actually check: size, color, texture, moisture, pH.
- Shelf life from packing, storage, and the minimum shelf life on delivery.
- Coding, barcodes, unit, case and pallet.
- TaroStack keeps the recipe versions, shelf life, lot codes and checks that a spec sheet describes. More below.
What a spec sheet includes
| Section | What goes in |
|---|---|
| Identity | Product name, description, spec version and date, recipe version |
| Ingredients and allergens | Ingredients in order, allergens contained, allergens also handled on site |
| Net weight | Declared weight, target fill, lowest acceptable weight and how it's checked |
| Physical | Appearance, size, color, texture, broken pieces |
| Chemical | Moisture, water activity, pH, salt, whatever matters for the product |
| Microbiological | Limits and testing, where your product or buyer calls for them |
| Shelf life and storage | Shelf life from packing, storage conditions, minimum on delivery |
| Coding | Lot code and date format, unit barcode, case barcode |
| Packaging | Unit, case size and weight, pallet layers |
| Contact | A name for quality and recalls |
A filled-in example
Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, sends this to a distributor:
| Taro chips, sea salt, 5 oz | |
|---|---|
| Version | Specification version 3, October 1, 2026; recipe version 3 |
| Ingredients | Taro, high-oleic sunflower oil, sea salt |
| Allergens | Contains none of the major food allergens; sesame handled in the facility |
| Net weight | Declared 5 oz (142 g); target 145 g; none below 142 g, checked 10 bags a run |
| Physical | Golden to light brown slices, 1.5 to 2.5 in; crisp; broken pieces no more than 15% by weight |
| Chemical | Moisture no more than 2%, lab-tested quarterly; salt 1.2 to 1.6% |
| Shelf life | 90 days from packing; cool, dry storage; at least 60 days on delivery |
| Coding | Lot TC-MMDD and BEST BY DD MMM YYYY on every bag and case |
| Packaging | 12 bags a case, 12 × 9 × 8 in, 4.2 lb; 10 cases a layer, 6 layers |
The limits are this product's own, set from its recipe, its lab results and its shelf life study; how a shelf life is worked out is in shelf life study template, and how the date is written is in best by date format.
Spec sheet or sell sheet?
| Spec sheet | Sell sheet | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Quality, purchasing, a co-packer | The buyer deciding whether to stock it |
| Holds | The standard every delivery must meet | Why it sells, prices and the store's margin |
| Prices | No | Yes |
| Changes when | The recipe, packaging or a limit changes | Prices or the range change |
Buyers often want both; the sell sheet gets the listing and the spec sheet keeps it. The sell sheet is in sell sheet template.
Keeping it current
A spec sheet describes one version of a product. When the recipe changes, an ingredient's supplier changes, the bag changes or a limit moves, the spec changes too, with a new version number and date, and buyers get the new one. Ask your own suppliers for their ingredient specification sheets in the same way; they're part of approving them, as in approved supplier list.
Get the template
Download the product specification sheet. One sheet, laid out by section, filled in with the example: type over it for each product and change the version whenever something changes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A spec sheet promises a standard; the kitchen has to meet it every day. The 142 g minimum is checked when there's time, the moisture limit is tested when someone remembers, and the spec still says version 3 after the oil changed in August. When a distributor rejects a pallet for underweight bags, the question is which batches, and the answer is in a pile of batch sheets.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps the facts a spec sheet is made of, batch by batch.
Recipes with versions. Each product's recipe has versions, so the spec sheet's recipe version is a real one, and every batch records the version it was made to. Units convert, and each item can carry a 14-digit GTIN for its case labels.
Checks against the spec, on every batch. Batch record forms carry your own fields with limits, like net weight, moisture or seal, so a bag below 142 g is flagged when it's checked, and the batch can sit on hold until it's released.
And the dates and codes. Each item carries its shelf life, every batch goes into a lot with its best-by date, and lot labels print with a GS1-128 barcode carrying the GTIN, the use-by date and the lot. A customer's days-of-shelf-life rule, like 60 days on delivery, is applied when an order is picked.
| The spec says | Paper | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe version 3 | Hoped | The version on every batch |
| None below 142 g | Checked sometimes | A batch record field with a limit |
| 90 days, 60 on delivery | Worked out by hand | Best-by on every lot; the customer's rule at picking |
| Lot and date on every case | Handwritten | GS1-128 lot labels |
Recipes with versions, batch records with limits, lots, lot labels and customers' shelf-life rules are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.