How does traceability work in the production module in tspoonlab?

When raw materials leave the store to be turned into a production (a stock, a sauce or a portion of cake), the traceability information chain must not break. In tspoonlab, the production module cleanly recovers the batches of the ingredients that make them up. When you start a production order, the software links the source batches of the products with the new finished product. This behaviour varies according to the way of working set on your account:

In default mode: the process is fully automatic and quick. The system automatically suggests the last batch purchased or produced to deduct the ingredients.
In FEFO mode (First-Expired, First-Out): the strict control method. When you start a production order, the system makes you manually select which exact batch of each ingredient you are using. You must also identify the resulting batch number and expiry (unless the recipe or dish has the expiry set on its record) for the final item.

📌 Note: If you want to enable FEFO mode for strict control of your production orders, check with your support-team advisor.

Recording product batches in production orders

When you start a production, the system shows the composition of the recipe or dish. Depending on your pace of work and the chosen setup, batch selection and generation works as follows:

Production in default mode: once you start the production, the system assumes products are consumed by the latest purchase date. It does not require manual interaction from the cook to validate individual ingredient batches, speeding up the daily record. However, with the "+" button you can view and select previous batches.

Production in FEFO mode: when you start the production, the system shows a selector for each ingredient in the recipe. You must indicate the exact batches of the products you will use. You can retrieve the batches the system suggests as theoretical, based on the expiry date, by clicking "Retrieve batches".

📢 Attention: Remember that productions must be in ins-and-outs stores and must have a quantity greater than 0 in the store for the system to record their batches.

📌 Note: At tspoonlab we recommend that those switching from default mode to FEFO mode make the change after doing a full inventory with verified batches.

Traceability: batches in your productions

Every time you start and finish a production, an internal batch is assigned to it: it will be the same production-day date, formatted automatically as year.month.day. tspoonlab guarantees cascading traceability. If Tomato sauce (a production) takes the batch of the Crushed tomato (product) bought from the supplier, when you use that sauce to produce a Lasagne (a dish), the system internally carries the whole batch chain backwards. If a health alert arises, you’ll know which Lasagne used the affected Crushed tomato batch.

How to see the batch numbers of a recipe or dish’s productions?

To see the batch numbers of your produced recipes and dishes, go to "Offer", then "Recipes" or "Dishes" as appropriate, and open your recipe or dish record. In the "Recent productions" section you’ll see all the productions made, with date, quantity and batch.

📢 Attention: If your operation needs different product- or production-batch assignment logic, or a particular use case, please contact the support team.

Production labels for traceability

To optimise traceability, you can generate labels with QR codes directly from the finished production order. By sticking this label on the produced item, kitchen staff can scan it in the next operational steps (such as inventories, waste or sales) to identify its production batch immediately. Check the article Generate QR labels for your productions.

Conclusion and access to the modules

Correctly carrying batches from products into your productions is the key link that connects traceability from your purchases to the final dish.

We encourage you to read the different articles in this collection independently, according to the area of your operation you need to set up or refine.

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Traceability in production: batches in products, recipes and dishes 🍳