Batch identification in the food industry

A batch comprises food products that have been produced, manufactured and packaged under practically the same conditions. Examples here are all the breads baked from a specific amount of dough, potato salad filled from a tub and milk containers with the same ingredients and the same expiry date.

Combinations of letters or numbers are printed on the labels. In the event of a recall, consumers can see whether the warning also applies to their stocks.

Batch tracing is increasingly being used to meet the growing demands of consumers for transparency: QR codes on the packaging contain a proof of origin and details of the supply chain. One example of this is the QR codes on frozen fish packaging. They provide information about the location where the fish was caught or reared.

Batch management gives food wholesalers the advantage of knowing the expiration date for each product sold and enables a quality control system in the event of a product recall.

Traceability of food

Since 2005, legal requirements have been in place to regulate the industrial processing and production of food. Full traceability of the products through all stages of production, processing and distribution is mandatory. The regulations are laid down in the basic regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 for foodstuffs, supplemented by the German LFGB (Food and Feed Code). This is generally referred to as the ‘Food Information Regulation Declaration’.

Scope of application

Companies must therefore collect information about their suppliers and customers and must also have further details such as quantities, batch numbers and product descriptions at hand. This applies to all companies in the food chain, e.g. farmers, importers, transporters and the food industry, as well as food wholesalers and food retailers.

The rules apply to products of animal origin such as meat and dairy products and to cereal products, fruit, vegetables, animal feed and seeds. Genetically modified food (EU Regulations 1829 and 1830/2003) and products from fisheries and aquacultures (EU Regulations 2065/2001, 1224/2009 and 404/2011) are also included.

When manufacturers label raw materials, individual products and complete batches of a production line, an explicit declaration of the foodstuffs is required, and this serves as identification and traceability.

Automatic batch tracking systems with mobile data acquisition (scanner systems) use barcodes printed on labels for this purpose. In this way, all the relevant information can be processed automatically with just one scan.

This enables the prescribed recording of raw materials, intermediate & end products and all production steps, stages of transport and storage up to arrival at the retailer and end-user, ensuring that they are all fully documented.

In meat production, this begins with the origin, housing and transport of the animals and continues through portioning and subsequent processing to the finished end product. Similar identification is used in the production of dairy products and eggs.

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) barcodes are used on food sector identification labels. For example, animals are given a precise identification in the form of an ear tag with a GTIN from the outset, making them clearly identifiable. The GTIN on packaging enables clear identification and includes all the essential product characteristics, such as colour, packaging unit and weight. GTIN barcodes are also known as EAN codes (European Article Number).