The traceable batch record sheet

Batch header and identity

• Assign the batch lot code before you weigh anythingUse a code you can read at a glance, such as year, month and a sequence number. Write it at the top of the sheet and on the maceration jar tape at the same moment, so the jar and the paper are never separated.
• Name the formula and its versionA formula that has changed since last time is a new version, not the same one. Note the version on the sheet so a later comparison of two batches is a real comparison.
• Record the finished form and containerTincture, glycerite, oxymel, oil, salve or syrup, plus the container size you intend to fill. This is what turns your planned volume into an expected unit count.
• Write who is running the batch and the start dateIf anyone besides you touches production, the initials matter. If you work alone, the date still matters because it is what a trace searches on.
• Note the intended destinationClinic dispensary, retail shelf, a named client formula or a wholesale account. Good looks like knowing before you start whether this batch needs a wholesale grade label.

Ingredient lot lines

• List each botanical with its Latin binomial and plant partRoot, leaf, flower, bark and aerial parts are not interchangeable, and the binomial removes the ambiguity that common names carry. One line per botanical, no abbreviations that only you understand.
• Record the supplier and the supplier lot numberCopy it exactly from the bag or the packing slip, including letters and leading zeros. This is the field that lets a supplier find their own record when you call them.
• Record your own intake lot code and receipt dateYour code is the one that links this line to your shelf jar. Good looks like every open jar on the herb wall wearing a piece of tape with the same code that appears on this sheet.
• Enter the weight used and the ratioGrams used and the ratio to menstruum, written as you weigh rather than from memory afterward. If you top up mid maceration, add a second line rather than editing the first.
• Record the menstruum and its strengthAlcohol percentage, water and glycerin proportions, or the oil and its infusion method. This is the line that most often decides whether a repeat batch matches the original.
• Note where the certificate of analysis is filedYou do not need the document on the sheet, only a pointer to it. Good looks like a file name or a binder tab you can reach in under a minute.

Process log

• Log the maceration start date and the planned end dateWrite the planned press date at the start. A jar sitting three weeks past its window is a quality question you want to see coming, not discover.
• Record any heat, agitation or percolation stepTemperature and duration for infused oils and syrups, shake schedule for macerations, flow rate notes for percolations. Heat load is where scaled batches most often drift from the small version.
• Record press yield and filtration lossLiquid recovered against liquid in, and what the marc weighed wet. Over a few batches this gives you a yield factor for your own press that makes planning honest.
• Note every deviation from the written procedureA substituted lot, a longer maceration, a different press cloth. Good looks like a deviation line that a stranger could read and understand without asking you.

Release, label and disposition

• Record final volume and the number of units filledCount what you actually filled, including the partial bottle you kept. This number is what your shelf count and your pricing both depend on.
• Check the label against the mandatory elementsStatement of identity, net quantity, ingredient listing, supplement facts and your name and address as the responsible firm, plus the batch lot code. Initial the line only when you have looked at a printed label, not a screen proof.
• Pull and label a retain sampleOne sealed unit from the batch, marked with the same lot code, stored out of light and heat. Good looks like a retain shelf where the oldest sample is older than your longest shelf life claim.
• Sign the release line before anything leaves the benchIdentity, weight, appearance, aroma, label and record all checked. An unsigned sheet means the batch stays in quarantine, even if it is only quarantined on the corner of your own workbench.
• Record where the units wentCounts to the shelf, to the clinic dispensary, to named client formulas and to each wholesale account. This is the line that turns a recall from a search into a phone list.