In this article
Talk to our experts- Lot number
- A lot number is a code that identifies one batch of product made under essentially the same conditions, so its history can be traced. FDA's drug rule defines it as any distinctive combination of letters, numbers or symbols "from which the complete history of the manufacture, processing, packing, holding, and distribution of a batch or lot" can be determined.
Also called: batch number, lot code, control number
How it works
FDA uses the same idea in three rulebooks, each with its own wording:
- Drugs (21 CFR 210.3): a lot is "a batch, or a specific identified portion of a batch, having uniform character and quality within specified limits." The rule names the code "Lot number, control number, or batch number."
- Medical devices (21 CFR 830.3): a lot or batch is one or more finished devices of a single type, model, class, size, composition or software version, "manufactured under essentially the same conditions." The lot is one of the production identifiers in a device's UDI.
- Food (the Food Traceability Rule): a traceability lot code is "a descriptor, often alphanumeric, used to uniquely identify a traceability lot." FDA says this is similar to what industry calls a "lot" or "lot code."
The food rule spells out when the code changes. Unless it is exempt, a firm assigns it when it initially packs a raw agricultural commodity, performs the first land-based receiving of food from a fishing vessel, or transforms a food. Once assigned, it must stay the same as the food moves through the supply chain.
How a traceability lot code moves with food
The firm assigns a traceability lot code when it initially packs a raw agricultural commodity.
Firms must not establish a new code for other activities, such as shipping.
The code can reach the receiver on a bill of lading, an advance shipment notice or a QR code.
The code can only be changed if the food is transformed, one of the points where a firm assigns a code.
The rule does not prescribe how firms define a lot, and FDA notes that smaller lots might lead to less food being affected in a recall. It does not require the code on the food's label or packaging either.
Lot number vs. SKU and serial number
A SKU is a code a business uses internally to track its inventory, and in Shopify each product and variant must have its own unique SKU. A lot number identifies one batch. In general inventory practice, the same SKU is made or received in many lots over time, and each lot carries its own history. A serial number goes one level further. In FDA's device rule it identifies a specific device, not a batch.
Example
A food distributor stocks one SKU of frozen chicken breast. It holds 2 lots: 30 cases of lot L0912 and 50 cases of lot L0930, so 30 + 50 = 80 cases on hand.
A restaurant group orders 45 cases. The order ships 30 cases of L0912 and 15 cases of L0930. One order line, two lot codes. If L0912 is later recalled, the distributor needs the accounts that received L0912, not every account that bought the SKU.
On Shopify
In Shopify, the SKU and barcodes live in the Inventory section of each product or variant.
Metafields extend Shopify's data model, such as products, customers and orders, with your own custom data. Shopify's own example of a product metafield is a grocery store displaying an expiration date, and Order is one of the metafield owner types in the Admin API. As a general practice, not a Shopify lot feature, lot codes can be recorded on the order as custom data, with the lot data itself coming from the warehouse or ERP system that picks the stock, through an integration or a custom build.
How Uncap helps
On Uncap's food manufacturing and distribution page, lot and expiry are captured at fulfillment and written back against the order line, so the record of which lot went to which customer on which shipment lives in the order history rather than in a warehouse spreadsheet. Where the WMS is the system of record, that is where it stays, and the order carries the reference rather than a copy. The page is explicit that this is not a shipped feature: "Catch weight and traceability are scoped as builds."
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is another name for a lot number?
Batch number, lot code or control number. FDA's drug rule names it "Lot number, control number, or batch number," and its food rule uses traceability lot code.
Is lot number the same as SKU?
No. A SKU is a code you use internally to track inventory, one per product or variant in Shopify. A lot number identifies one batch, and in general practice one SKU carries many lot numbers over time.
How can I look up a lot number?
Under FDA's food rule, a traceability lot code identifies a lot within the records of the traceability lot code source, the physical location where the food was assigned its code. The code can reach each receiver on a bill of lading, an advance shipment notice or a QR code.
