Food traceability software with lot tracking and recall response

Food traceability software records every movement, transformation, and shipment of a food product against a lot identifier. Forward traceability lets you start with an inbound ingredient lot and see every downstream batch, SKU, customer, and shipment it became. Backward traceability does the reverse: pick a finished product and see every input, supplier, and pickup that contributed to it. inecta Food ERP builds traceability directly into receiving, production, warehousing, and shipping workflows so the records exist as a byproduct of normal operations rather than as a separate documentation exercise.

FSMA 204 is Section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act, also called the Food Traceability Rule or the Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods. The final rule was published by the FDA in November 2022. The compliance deadline was originally January 20, 2026, but the FDA finalized a 30-month extension, moving it to July 20, 2028. The rule applies to foods on the Food Traceability List (FTL), which includes certain cheeses, shell eggs, nut butters, cucumbers, fresh herbs, leafy greens, melons, peppers, sprouts, tomatoes, tropical tree fruits, ready-to-eat deli salads, and certain finfish, crustaceans, and mollusks.

A Critical Tracking Event (CTE) is an operation or handling event the FDA has identified as requiring traceability records: Harvesting, Cooling, Initial Packing, First Land-Based Receiver, Shipping, Receiving, and Transformation. A Key Data Element (KDE) is the specific piece of information that must be recorded at each CTE, such as Traceability Lot Code, location identifier, date, quantity, item description, and reference document number. The FDA published a CTE/KDE matrix that defines which KDEs must accompany each CTE. inecta captures the required KDEs automatically at each CTE based on item configuration.

When a suspect lot is identified, the recall workflow runs the forward trace from that lot through every downstream batch, SKU, customer, and shipment. inecta generates a customer impact report, places automatic holds on affected inventory in your warehouses, and locks the audit trail of every event tied to the lot. Mock recalls run as test exercises against the same workflow, producing the documentation auditors and certification bodies expect (SQF, BRC, HACCP, GFSI). The full record set is preserved electronically and can be provided to the FDA within the 24-hour window the FSMA 204 rule requires.

Yes. Allergen attributes live at the lot record, dietary attributes (kosher, halal, organic, non-GMO, gluten-free) live at the item or lot level depending on configuration, and cross-contact rules prevent accidental mixing on shared production lines. If an allergen incident occurs, exposure mapping pulls every affected SKU, batch, and downstream customer through the same forward-trace mechanism used for recalls.

inecta uses GS1 standards-based lot identifiers (GTIN, batch/lot, expiration date) and supports GS1-128 barcode parsing for receiving and shipping. EPCIS-style CTE records are available for export. For customers participating in blockchain-based traceability networks (such as the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability framework or trading-partner-specific platforms), inecta's lot records and CTE events can be exported in compatible formats. The ERP remains the system of record; blockchain platforms operate as shared trading-partner ledgers on top.

inecta Food ERP traceability covers every food and beverage vertical: seafood (vessel records, SIMP, First Land-Based Receiver CTE), meat and poultry (USDA/FSIS, primal-to-retail), produce (Harvesting/Cooling/Initial Packing CTEs, grower and harvest records), dairy (milk pickup ticket, component-based lots, aging attributes), bakery (batch-level allergen mapping), and beverage (tank and blend traceability, packaging-line scheduling). Each vertical uses the same underlying lot ledger with industry-specific KDE configurations.

Yes. inecta Food Traceability Software is delivered as part of inecta Food ERP on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, so traceability data lives in the same system as purchasing, production, inventory, sales, and financials. There is no separate traceability database to sync. Every CTE event is recorded against the standard Item Ledger and Lot Information records, with food-specific KDE capture and FSMA 204 workflow extending the platform.