MORE ON LOT CODES:

Lot codes (also lot numbers) are alpha/numeric codes that are assigned to identify specific products down to a small unit and thus enable detailed traceability of a product. This traceability is very important for food safety considerations in fresh produce. Lot codes are particularly important to traceability. Specifically, in the event of a product recall lot codes allow producers and food hubs to home in on the exact product units that need to be recalled. For example, if a farmer who utilizes lot codes produces lettuce in 3 different fields and lettuce from one field must be recalled the producer or distributing hub will only have to recall product from the effected field, rather than all lettuce from that farm. In contrast a producer who does not use lot codes would have to recall all lettuce, thus incurring losses beyond what is necessary to ensure food safety.

Lot Codes are updated at each step in a supply chain, but in local and regional produce systems there are typically just one or two sets of numbers: a set generated when a farmer picks and ships product, and often a second code if a food hub/packer/processor repacks or processes the product.  Below are the critical components of two types of lot codes.

Here are examples of Farm-generated and Packer/Processor/Hub-generated lot codes:

Example: FARM-Generated Lot code

Alpha/Numeric code components:  

  • Harvest Date (Julian dating*, eg: April 30 = 120)

  • Field or farm (eg: Field A)

  • Row or section (eg: Row 5)

  • Picker** (eg: Picker 1)

  • Packer (if separate from picker, eg: Packer 2)

  • Example code (showing components above): 120-A-5-1-2

Example: PACKER/PROCESSOR/HUB-Generated Lot code (2 types)

Option 1: Pass through product
Alpha/Numeric code components:

  • Maintains the farm-generated code (such as shown above), and adds:

  • Receipt date (Julian dating*, Eg: May 2 = 122)

  • Farm (Eg: Farm 10)

  • Product/pack size (Eg: 40# case of beans is product 7)

  • Example code: 120-A-5-1-122-10-7

 
Option 2: Products are packed, repacked, processed
Uses a completely new numeric code (not the farm code) that includes:

  • Aggregation/creation date (Julian dating, Eg: May 2 = 122)

  • ID# assigned for each farm or farms contributing product to the lot (eg: farms # 10, 11, 12)

  • Example code: 122-10-11-12

*There are several options commonly used to denote the pick or pack date. However,  Julian calendar dating is recommended as a simplified dating schema that is becoming fairly standardized across the industry. Julian dating is where each day of the year is assigned a number from 1 to 365 / or 366 in leap year. 

**The picker and packer numbers (or letters) are assigned by the business for each person working, and should be kept as part of internal records.  If the packer is ALWAYS the same as the picker—then the lot code does not need to include the additional number in the sequence/it can stay with a shorter notation (120-A-5).  A picker/packer notation is not always included, but for fresh products it is advisable.

Additionally: A code for a specific product, such as beets or corn, is sometimes assigned at the beginning of the number, especially for fields where multiple crops are produced.

The Market Data Guidelines for Produce in Regional Food Systems were developed through a collaboration among USDA AMS Local and Regional Food Systems, Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment, and the International Center for Food Ontology Operability Data and Semantics. Funding was provided through USDA AMS Cooperative agreement #22-TMMSD-ME-0002