When a buyer's new-vendor form asks "Do you have lot tracking?", they're asking three things. Does every unit and case carry a code that identifies the production run? Do your records connect that code back to the ingredients that went in and forward to everyone who received it? And can you use those records quickly, which they'll usually check by asking for a recall plan and the date of your last mock recall. If you can say yes to all three, you have lot tracking. It doesn't need to be software, and it doesn't need to be complicated.
The short version
- Put a lot code on every unit and every case. Production date plus a batch letter is enough.
- Keep a batch sheet for each lot that lists the supplier lot of every ingredient and packaging item.
- Write the lot on every invoice or packing slip.
- Have a written recall plan, even a short one.
- Run a mock recall, time it, and keep the one-page result.
You can do all five in a working week. There's a day-by-day plan below.
Why they ask
Nobody on the buying side cares about your lot codes for their own sake. They care about what happens on the day something goes wrong. If a supplier of yours recalls an ingredient, the store wants to hear "it's lot 260921B, you received four cases on the 24th, please pull them" and nothing more. What they're afraid of is the other call: "we're not sure which ones, so please pull everything of ours." That empties a shelf, generates paperwork on their side, and tends to be the last order they place.
So the question on the form is a proxy. They're checking whether a problem with your product stays your problem.
What the packet usually asks for
Requirements vary by buyer, and the big ones keep the details behind a supplier login. Here's what's public.
Whole Foods Market says prospective suppliers need to meet its Quality Standards and its "food/product safety requirements", with "production in a certified commercial facility" and "liability insurance". You apply through its supplier portal, and the public page warns that it can't promise a reply. The specifics arrive after you register.
KeHE, one of the big natural-foods distributors, is more explicit in its routing guide, as summarized by SPS Commerce. Every case of multiple units needs a scannable ITF-14 or GS1-128 barcode, on at least two sides, and KeHE prefers GS1-128. A human-readable date code goes on the shipping case, each carton and the product itself. KeHE doesn't supply barcodes ("They must be purchased from GS1 directly"), and cases that don't comply draw a fee.
Costco is a different league: a GFSI-benchmarked certification such as SQF or BRCGS, audits that have been unannounced since April 2023, and an automatic failure if you have fewer than 60 days of production records on hand, according to Oregon State's guide for food brands. That same guide makes a point worth repeating: start with regional stores, where the requirements are lighter and you'll learn what buyers actually ask.
Your independent grocer or co-op will ask for far less. Often it's a conversation: "Do your jars have lot codes? What would you do if there was a problem?" Having a real answer puts you ahead of most of the small brands they talk to.
This is general information, not legal advice, and buyers change their requirements. Always work from the packet the buyer actually sends you.
Be ready by Friday
Monday: pick a lot code and start using it. Production date plus a batch letter, like 260921A. Put it on every
unit and every case from today's production onward. The full how-to is here.
Tuesday: start a batch sheet. One page per batch: the lot code, the product, how many you made, and the supplier's lot number for every ingredient and every packaging item. If an ingredient came from a warehouse store with no lot on it, give it your own code from the date you bought it.
Wednesday: put lots on your invoices. One extra column on the packing slip or invoice: "12 cases, lot 260921A." This is the link that tells you who received what, and it's the one most small producers are missing.
Thursday: write the recall plan. Who decides, who calls whom, what the notice says, what happens to the product. It's about four pages, and here's a filled-in example to copy.
Friday: run a mock recall. Pick one of this week's lots, start a timer, and prove from your paperwork what went into it and where every case went. Write up the result on one page with the date, the time it took and the percentage you accounted for. Here's a complete example with numbers.
One honest limit: you can't backfill. Product you made last month without lot codes stays untraceable. Tell the buyer the date your lot coding started. That answer is much better than pretending.
What to write on the form
Buyers read a lot of these, and specifics stand out. Something like:
Every unit and case carries a lot code (production date plus batch letter, e.g. 260921A). Batch records link each lot to the supplier lot numbers of all ingredients and packaging. Lot codes are recorded on every invoice. We maintain a written recall plan and run a mock recall at least annually. Most recent: [date], [X]% of product accounted for in [N] minutes. Lot coding in place since [date].
Only write what's true. If your first mock recall took three hours and found a gap, say three hours, and say what you fixed. A buyer who's seen a hundred forms knows a real answer from a copied one.
Barcodes aren't lot tracking, but they arrive in the same packet
A UPC barcode identifies the product, so every jar of your mango habanero has the same one. A lot code identifies the batch. Buyers want both, and new brands often mix them up.
For barcodes, the numbers come from GS1. GS1 US sells a single GTIN for a one-time $30 with no renewal fee, which it describes as "ideal for business that need a unique identifier for a small number of products." If you've got more than a handful of products, a company prefix makes more sense. Distributors will also want a case-level barcode, and the GS1-128 format that KeHE prefers can carry the lot number and date inside the barcode itself, which is where the two systems meet. There's more in GS1 barcodes for small food producers.
Where this stops working
Paper and spreadsheets pass this test when you've got two products and one customer. They start failing quietly as you grow: the batch sheets pile up in a binder that can't be searched, the lot column on the invoice gets skipped on busy days, and the mock recall that took 45 minutes in year one takes all afternoon in year three. Larger buyers will also ask for it again, every year, with evidence.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps the three links buyers are asking about, as part of the work you're already doing. Supplier lots are recorded when you receive stock. When you record a batch, the ingredient lots it used are noted for you. The lot goes on the order when it ships. So "who received lot 260921B?" is one report, with the ingredient lots behind it, the customers in front of it, what's still on your shelves and the contacts to call.
You can run a timed traceability drill whenever you like and the result is logged, which gives you the date and the number of minutes for that form. It prints lot labels with GS1-128 barcodes for your cases. And lots, expiry dates and recall reports are included in every plan, including the $49 one, because that's the part a small producer can't do without. Recording batches against recipes is part of Standard.