FoodReady
LOT GENEALOGY · FSMA 204 RECORDKEEPING · RECALL READINESS

Food Traceability Software built for manufacturers and processors

FoodReady links every supplier lot, receiving record, manufacturing order, finished lot and shipment into one lot genealogy. Trace any lot backward to its source or forward to every customer, and hand auditors and the FDA the records behind it.

  • Lot-level, end-to-end traceability — from supplier receiving to finished-goods shipment.
  • Recalls in seconds, not hours — one search surfaces every affected lot, product, and destination.
  • FSMA 204 records built in — capture the Critical Tracking Events and Key Data Elements the rule requires.
  • Software + food-safety experts — implementation backed by real consultants, not just a support ticket.
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14 sec
average lot trace, supplier to shipment
2-way
backward to source, forward to consignee
24 hr
FDA records request, ready to assemble
Lot genealogy

Trace every lot from supplier to customer

Lot genealogy is the record of which parent lots became which child lots. In FoodReady it builds itself as you work: a purchase order becomes a receiving event, the supplier lot is consumed by a manufacturing order, the run creates a finished-goods lot, and that lot ships to a named consignee. Every link carries a quantity, unit of measure, operator and timestamp.

Supplier

Approval status, certificates and specifications.

Purchase order

Ordered item and quantity, linked to the receipt.

Receiving event

GS1 barcode scan, date, quantity, bill of lading.

Supplier lot

Supplier lot code with its COA attached.

Inventory

Storage location, expiration date, FEFO, hold status.

Manufacturing order

BOM drives consumption of scanned ingredient lots.

Finished-goods lot

Child lot linked to every parent lot it consumed.

Shipment

Sales order, ship date, quantity shipped.

Consignee

The customer who received that exact lot.

The same graph answers quality questions

Customer complaint → finished lot → production batch → ingredient lot → supplier → root cause → CAPA

And regulatory ones

FTL food → Critical Tracking Event → Key Data Elements → Traceability Lot Code → reference document → FDA records request

Lot Track & Trace

See a lot trace the way your QA team sees it

Search by item or by lot code, select several lots to compare side by side, and download the full trace. Switch between backward and forward trace below.

foodready lot track and trace product
Capabilities

Food traceability software capabilities

Each capability writes to the same lot record, so nothing has to be reconciled by hand when an auditor or customer asks.

Lot and batch tracking

Every receipt, consumption and output creates a lot record with quantity, unit of measure, operator and timestamp. Search by item or lot code and trace in either direction.

Best for: daily lot control

GS1 barcode capture

Scan GS1 barcodes at receiving to capture the item, supplier lot and quantity in one step, with no retyping at the dock.

Best for: receiving dock teams

Supplier, COA and spec records

Each supplier lot is tied to the supplier's approval, certificates, specification and certificate of analysis, so the evidence sits on the lot it describes.

Best for: supplier quality managers

Inventory, WIP and expiry

FoodReady's food inventory management software tracks supplier items, work in progress and finished goods by lot, storage location and expiration date, so you can pick FEFO and place lots on hold without breaking the trace.

Best for: warehouse and inventory

Mobile records at the event

Operators record receiving, consumption and checks on a phone or tablet where the work happens, so data is captured at the Critical Tracking Event, not typed in later.

Best for: production floor operators

Audit trail on every record

Who recorded what, when, and every later edit. SQF, BRCGS and FSSC 22000 auditors get a search result instead of a binder.

Best for: auditors and QA
Production

How FoodReady creates lot genealogy during production

Genealogy is not a report you build after the fact. It is created by the steps your team already runs in FoodReady software.

01

Release the manufacturing order

The MO pulls its bill of materials and sets the expected output quantity.

02

Scan ingredient lots against it

Operators scan each supplier lot. The BOM drives consumption, so the right lots and quantities are drawn from inventory.

03

Close the run, create the finished lot

Actual output is recorded against expected, and the new finished-goods lot is linked to every parent lot it consumed.

04

Ship against sales orders

The finished lot is attached to each shipment and consignee, which completes the forward trace.

FSMA 204

FSMA 204 traceability and recordkeeping

The FDA Food Traceability Rule implements Section 204(d) of the Food Safety Modernization Act. It applies to companies that manufacture, process, pack or hold foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL), subject to exemptions, and requires them to keep Key Data Elements (KDEs) for the Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) they perform.

Where the compliance date stands?

FDA will not enforce the Food Traceability Rule before July 20, 2028. Congress directed this in the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2026, and FDA has proposed extending the compliance date to the same day. The rule's requirements have not changed.

The seven Critical Tracking Events

FoodReady captures KDEs for the CTEs your facility actually performs. For most manufacturers and processors that means receiving, transformation and shipping. Required KDEs differ from one CTE to the next.

Harvesting

Cooling before initial packing

Initial packing

First land-based receiving (seafood)

Receiving

Common for manufacturers

Transformation

Common for manufacturers

Shipping

Common for manufacturers

How a Traceability Lot Code moves

1

Assign the code

A TLC is assigned at initial packing, first land-based receiving of certain seafood, or transformation.

2

Record the TLC source

Log the location where the code was assigned, or a TLC source reference that points FDA to it.

3

Carry it downstream

The code stays unchanged through shipping and receiving, so every downstream partner records the same code.

4

Replace it on transformation

Only a new transformation creates a new traceability lot, which then gets its own TLC and TLC source.

Example: transformation KDEs mapped to FoodReady

Where it comes from

  • •
    Input TLCs and quantities
    Scanned ingredient lots on the MO
  • •
    New TLC
    Finished-goods lot code
  • •
    Location description
    Facility record (TLC source)
  • •
    Product description
    Item master
  • •
    Quantity and unit of measure
    Actual output on the closed MO
  • •
    Date completed
    MO close date
  • •
    Reference document
    MO or batch record number

Traceability plan

Covered entities must keep one. FoodReady provides plan templates tied to your mapped process.

24-hour records requests

Records generally must reach FDA within 24 hours of a request. Lot-linked records are assembled by search.

Electronic sortable spreadsheet

Required in specified outbreak, recall or public-health situations. Export trace data in a sortable format.

Two-year retention

Records are generally kept for two years. Digital records stay retrievable without a records room.

FSMA 204 does not require you to buy software.

It requires you to keep the right records and produce them on request, and FDA does not mandate a specific technology. Software makes that easier to do every day: capture at the event, validation, lot linkage, fast retrieval and export.

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RECALL READINESS

Recall and mock recall readiness

A recall starts with the trace. From one affected lot, FoodReady identifies every related lot, the quantity involved and each consignee who received it, then carries that into the recall workflow.

Affected lot → Affected lot → Consignees → Notification → Effectiveness check → Disposition

With FoodReady's recall management software, you can schedule mock recalls, record how long each took and how much product was reconciled, and keep the result for your next SQF or BRCGS audit.

QUALITY AND CAPA

Connect traceability with quality and CAPA

When a complaint or nonconformance comes in, the lot record leads straight to the cause. Trace from the finished lot to the production batch and ingredient lots, find the supplier involved, and open a corrective action on the right record.

Complaint → Finished lot → Production batch → Ingredient lot → Supplier → Root cause → CAPA

In FoodReady's food quality management software, nonconformances, root cause and CAPA stay attached to the affected lots, products and suppliers.

Standards, integrations and multiple sites

GS1 barcode traceability

Scan GS1 barcodes and connect lot data at receiving. As a GS1 US Channel Partner, FoodReady can also help businesses get authentic GTINs and GS1 Company Prefixes.

Integrate with your existing systems

Exchange item, order and lot data with the accounting, ERP and warehouse systems you already run, without corrupting the records you rely on in an audit.

Multi-site traceability

Corporate QA can trace a lot across facilities and see each site's records in one place.

Who FoodReady traceability is built for

Food manufacturers

Processors

Distributors

Warehouses and cold storage

Multi-site operations

Produce

Ready-to-eat

Frozen foods

"Food safety as a mandatory path has only become important in the last 10-15 years in the food industry. Nowadays, the FDA, USDA, SQF, and consumers no longer care if the food quality is good if it cannot be proven food-safe. What attracted Eurobake to FoodReady software is that FoodReady started with food safety and food traceability as its core. And because of this construct, it can easily be bolted on to accounting or manufacturing modules without corrupting or overcomplicating the data gathering process"

Josh Svenhard
CEO
Eurobake

"The traceability FoodReady provided with recording, tracking and searching historical data was excellent to aid in our SQF goal."

Amanda Turner
QA Manager

What to look for in food traceability software

Use these questions in any demo, ours included. Comparing vendors side by side? See how we compare food traceability software.

CriterionLot genealogy
What to verifyAre raw-material lots linked to finished lots and shipments?
How FoodReady handles itParent and child lots linked automatically on every MO
CriterionForward and backward tracing
What to verifyCan you start from an ingredient or a finished product?
How FoodReady handles itSearch by item or lot code, both directions
CriterionRecall readiness
What to verifyAre affected lots, quantities and consignees identified quickly?
How FoodReady handles it14-second average lot trace, plus mock recall workflows
CriterionFSMA 204
What to verifyDoes it capture KDEs for your applicable CTEs?
How FoodReady handles itReceiving, transformation and shipping KDEs, plan templates
CriterionFDA record retrieval
What to verifyCan records be assembled within 24 hours?
How FoodReady handles itLot-linked records, sortable export
CriterionBarcode support
What to verifyCan operators capture lots with GS1 scanning?
How FoodReady handles itGS1 scanning; GS1 US Channel Partner
CriterionInventory
What to verifyDoes lot tracking continue through WIP, storage and finished goods?
How FoodReady handles itLot, location, expiry and FEFO across all stages
CriterionProduction integration
What to verifyAre ingredient lots tied to manufacturing orders and BOMs?
How FoodReady handles itLots scanned against MOs; BOM drives consumption
CriterionSupplier records
What to verifyAre supplier, COA and receiving records linked to lots?
How FoodReady handles itSupplier approval, COA and PO on each supplier lot
CriterionQuality
What to verifyDo complaints and deviations lead back to affected lots?
How FoodReady handles itNonconformance and CAPA linked to lots and suppliers
CriterionMobile usability
What to verifyCan floor workers record data at the event?
How FoodReady handles itPhone and tablet capture on the floor
CriterionIntegrations
What to verifyDoes it exchange data with ERP, accounting or WMS?
How FoodReady handles itWebhooks and API-driven data syncing for custom ERP, QuickBooks, Xero
CriterionMulti-site
What to verifytrace lots and manage compliance across multiple facilities
How FoodReady handles itTrace lots and manage compliance across multiple facilities
CriterionImplementation
What to verifyWho maps the process and validates the trace chain?
How FoodReady handles itGuided setup, with food safety consulting available
Further reading

Learn more about food traceability

Questions buyers ask

Food traceability software FAQ

What is food traceability software?

It records how ingredients, batches and finished products move and transform through your operation, so you can trace any lot backward to its supplier or forward to every customer. Good systems also support recalls and keep records in the structure FDA, USDA and certification auditors expect.

What is lot genealogy?

Lot genealogy is the parent and child relationship between lots: which supplier lots were consumed by which production run, which finished lot that run created, and which shipments and consignees received it.

How does FoodReady support FSMA 204 recordkeeping?

FoodReady captures the Key Data Elements for the Critical Tracking Events your facility performs, typically receiving, transformation and shipping. That includes Traceability Lot Codes, TLC source information, product descriptions, quantities and units of measure, dates and reference documents. It also provides traceability plan templates and sortable exports.

When does FSMA 204 compliance begin?

FDA will not enforce the Food Traceability Rule before July 20, 2028, following a congressional directive, and FDA has proposed extending the compliance date to that day. The requirements themselves are unchanged, so many companies are building the records now.

How fast can FoodReady trace a lot?

The average lot trace from supplier to shipment takes 14 seconds. A full mock recall also includes reconciliation and consignee steps, which FoodReady tracks as a separate workflow.

Do I need software to comply with FSMA 204?

No. The rule requires the records, not a specific technology. Software helps you capture them consistently, link them by lot and produce them within 24 hours when FDA asks.

How long does implementation take?

Most teams move through process mapping, data import and a validating mock recall in weeks, not months. Timelines scale with the number of facilities and SKUs, and food safety consulting is available for teams that want guided setup.

Which companies benefit most?

Manufacturers, co-packers, processors, distributors, warehouses, and packaging facilities: anywhere lots move and transform and an auditor may ask you to prove it.

Is the software customizable for my facility?

Yes. Batch monitoring, supplier documentation, checklists, and reporting all configure to match your process and compliance goals.

How is FoodReady priced?

Pricing depends on your facility count, volume and whether you add consulting. Book a demo and we will scope it with you.

See your traceability gap in one demo

Bring a product and a lot code. We'll trace it end to end and show you exactly where your FSMA 204 records stand.

30-minute callNo commitmentInstant confirmation
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