Production Traceability
The Traceability page lets you track ingredients and batches in both directions through your production chain. You can trace a supplier lot forward to find every batch it touched, or trace a finished batch backward to see exactly which ingredient lots went into it.
Navigate to the Traceability page from your Production dashboard by selecting the traceability option marked with a warning-colored track-changes icon. You will find two tabs: Forward Trace and Backward Trace.
Why Traceability Matters
Food safety regulations require ice cream producers to identify, within hours, every product affected by a supplier recall. Traceability also works in reverse: when a customer reports a problem with a specific batch, you need to pinpoint which ingredient lots were involved.
The Ice Cream Calculator builds this traceability chain automatically as you purchase stock and produce batches. No extra record-keeping steps are required beyond entering supplier lot numbers when you record deliveries.
Forward Trace — Supplier Recalls
Use the Forward Trace tab when you need to find all production batches that consumed a specific ingredient lot. This is the tab you reach first when you open the page, and it is labeled “Supplier Recall” in the interface.
The tab provides two search fields: Supplier Name and Supplier Lot Number. You can fill in one or both fields to narrow results. The Search Lots button remains disabled until you enter at least one value.
After searching, a table of matching purchase lots appears with the following columns:
- Date
- Ingredient
- Supplier
- Lot #
- Quantity
- Expiry
- Actions
To trace a lot forward through production, click the Trace button in the Actions column for that row. The system then searches for every production batch that consumed any quantity from that specific lot.
The forward trace results appear in a second table below, showing all production usages from the selected lot. The columns in this results table are:
- Production Date — when the batch was produced
- Batch Code — clickable link that opens a production details dialog
- Recipe — the recipe used for that batch
- Ingredient — the specific ingredient consumed from the lot
- Qty Used — how much of the lot was used in that batch
- Batch Total — total quantity produced in that batch
If the lot has not been used in any production batch, a green success alert appears with the message: “No production batches have consumed from this lot yet.” This confirms the lot is safe to quarantine without affecting finished goods.
Backward Trace — Customer Complaints
Use the Backward Trace tab when a customer reports a problem and you need to identify every ingredient lot that went into a specific production batch. The tab is labeled “Customer Complaint” in the interface.
Two search fields are available: Batch Code (for example, 20260205-001) and Recipe Name. Enter at least one value, then click Search Batches.
The search results table lists matching production batches with these columns:
- Date
- Batch Code
- Recipe
- Quantity
- Operator
- Actions
Click Trace on the batch you want to investigate. The backward trace results appear grouped by ingredient name. Each ingredient group displays its own table with these columns:
- Supplier — the supplier who provided the lot
- Lot # — the supplier’s lot number
- Lot Expiry — the lot’s expiry date
- Qty Used — how much of that lot was consumed
- Cost/kg — the unit cost recorded at purchase
- Actions — contains a “Trace Lot” button
If no lot-level traceability data is available for the selected batch, a warning alert appears: “No lot-level traceability data available for this batch. Lot tracking records are created automatically when batches are produced with FIFO stock consumption active.”
Cross-Tracing Between Tabs
The backward and forward trace tabs are designed to work together. When you are viewing backward trace results and click Trace Lot on any ingredient row, the system automatically switches to the Forward Trace tab. It fills in the supplier name and lot number from that row and runs the search for you.
This cross-trace lets you quickly answer the follow-up question in any recall scenario: “This batch used lot X from supplier Y — what other batches also used that same lot?” You do not need to manually re-enter search criteria.
The Traceability page also supports deep linking from other parts of the application. The Production Log page and the Production Details dialog both include a “Trace” button on each batch. Clicking it navigates directly to the Traceability page with the Backward Trace tab pre-selected and the batch code pre-filled.
When the page loads with these parameters, it automatically runs the search. If exactly one production batch matches, the system also auto-traces it, immediately showing you the ingredient lot details without any extra clicks.
How Traceability Data Is Created
Traceability data is built automatically from two routine actions you already perform in the production system. No separate traceability step is needed.
- Record purchases with lot numbers. When you add stock in Stock Management, enter the supplier name and supplier lot number for each delivery. This creates the lot records that traceability depends on.
- Produce batches through the production system. When you log a production batch, the system automatically creates ProductionLotUsage records that link the batch to the specific supplier lots consumed. Stock is consumed using FIFO (first in, first out) order.
Both steps are essential. If you skip entering lot numbers during purchasing, the backward trace will have no lot-level data to display. The forward trace similarly requires lot numbers to identify which specific deliveries to search for.
Tips
- Always record the supplier lot number when receiving deliveries. Without it, traceability cannot link ingredients to specific supplier lots.
- Use the Batch Code field for quick backward traces. Batch codes like 20260205-001 are unique and return a single result, triggering the automatic trace.
- When investigating a recall, start with Forward Trace to identify all affected batches, then use the batch codes from the results to check distribution records.
- If backward trace shows “No lot-level traceability data available,” check whether the batch was produced before you started recording lot numbers, or whether FIFO stock consumption was active at the time of production.
- Click any Batch Code link in the forward trace results to open the full production details dialog, where you can review batch notes, operator, and quantities.