In direct farm sales, good traceability lets you answer three questions quickly: which batch is involved, where did it come from and where did it go? The purpose is not to create paperwork for its own sake. It is to isolate the right products when a test, supplier, customer or authority reports a problem.

Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 requires food traceability at every stage of production, processing and distribution. Its baseline is often described as “one step back, one step forward”: identify the immediate supplier and the immediate business recipient. Under the general rule, retailers do not have to identify each final consumer, although more detailed requirements apply to certain sectors, including food of animal origin.

Start with a useful batch definition

A batch should be precise enough to limit the scope of an incident, but not so complicated that staff cannot use it consistently. Depending on the activity, it might cover one harvest day, a field and crop, a production run, a milking or an incoming ingredient delivery. A short, unique code is enough if it points to reliable records.

Do not reuse the same code for different production runs. If harvests or batches are combined, record the original references. Mixing lots without a record weakens traceability and can turn a targeted withdrawal into a much wider one.

A practical batch record can include:

  • the product identity, variety or recipe where this helps distinguish it;
  • the batch code and harvest, production or packing date;
  • quantities produced, stored, sold, donated or discarded;
  • inputs and ingredients, their suppliers and incoming batch references where available;
  • outgoing channels, such as the farm shop, market, box scheme, pickup point or a business customer;
  • relevant checks and incidents, including temperatures, test results, damaged packaging, complaints or corrective action.

This is an organisational starting point, not a universal legal checklist. Requirements vary by product and sector. If you handle food of animal origin, sprouts or processed food, check the relevant sector rules and validated hygiene guidance.

Link inputs, production and outgoing food

Useful traceability is a continuous chain. A supplier invoice may not show which finished batch used an ingredient. Conversely, a batch code printed on a jar is of little value if it does not lead to a record.

The link can remain simple: one row per batch in a spreadsheet, a bound notebook or suitable software. The tool matters less than the ability to retrieve the supplier, date, quantity and destination promptly. Keep supporting records in a consistent order, including delivery notes, invoices, production sheets, labels, relevant test results and records required by your food safety management system.

For sales to another business, retain its identity and the references of the batch supplied. For direct supply to final consumers, the general “one step forward” rule does not require a named record for every shopper. Recording the sales day, place or channel and quantity can still help define the reach of a recall, while respecting applicable personal data rules.

Run a traceability test before an emergency

Periodically choose a completed batch and time the search. Can you find its ingredients or inputs, related checks, remaining stock and business destinations? Can you also start with one incoming ingredient and identify every batch in which it was used?

This exercise exposes common gaps: an unreadable code, a missing date, an unrecorded mix or stock that left without a clear destination. Fix the process while conditions are calm. The European Commission stresses that food businesses hold primary responsibility for compliance and food safety, while traceability supports targeted withdrawal and accurate information.

Prepare a withdrawal and recall procedure

Traceability only creates value when it leads to action. A withdrawal removes affected food that remains within the professional supply chain. A recall also reaches food already supplied to consumers when it may still be eaten or cause harm.

Prepare an emergency sheet containing the competent local authority's contact details, named responsibilities, a method for blocking stock and the communication channels you can use. If food may be unsafe, do not decide alone that the risk is insignificant. Isolate the relevant batches, preserve records and contact the competent authority promptly. In France, when a consumer recall is implemented, the responsible business must also declare it through RappelConso.

A recall notice must identify the food precisely: product name, presentation, affected batch numbers, sales period and the action consumers should take. A consistent batch code that is visible on the pack, or unambiguously linked to loose sales, makes that response much faster.

Keep the same reference across sales channels

A farm product may be sold at the farm, at a market, in a box or through an online introduction service. Your internal register should remain the source of truth across every channel. An online listing does not replace regulatory traceability and should not be the only place where batch information is stored.

On Seeed, the available products page helps people discover local offers, while producers keep their own traceability records. The marketplace rules explain the service framework, and the guide to organising farm pickup complements the operational preparation of local orders.

Sources

Photo credit: “Produce at the USDA Farmers Market”, Edward Ragland / U.S. Department of Agriculture, via Wikimedia Commons — CC BY 2.0. Image used without modification.