Lot Coding

Slow’s Bar-B-Q owners Brian and Terry Perrone had been planning to launch their new “Slows @ Home” program, where they would ship delicious barbeque food from their kitchen to homes all across the country, for a year and a half. There were many obstacles keeping them from selling their cuisine online, including navigating food and safety regulations associated with shipping frozen food, and they were down to one last primary challenge: the need for lot coding. 

A lot code is a unique code assigned to each batch (lot) of food product made. The lot code is what allows a business to trace the source of the problem when someone gets sick or an ingredient is found to be contaminated. Brian and Terry stressed the importance of getting a handle on lot coding in order to get approval from the Health Department to set the Slows @ Home program in motion. 

Through two on-site visits, online research, and a consultation with lot coding experts, the operations team developed materials to help the Slows team compare different lot coding methods and their associated costs. Once Slow’s owners had made a decision, we sent them the materials they needed to get started, including a lot coding tracking template, a recall plan, and a more in-depth guide on how to lot code

Get a brief overview of lot coding and its implementation:

Want to learn more? View the in depth guide we created for Slows Bar-B-Q: