Insight: the number on the bag is a lot number

The number printed on a bag of organic product is not decoration. It is the lot number, and it is the heart of tracing where every organic product came from.

What a lot is

A lot is a group of produce harvested at the same time, from the same field or from fields managed in exactly the same way. Each lot has its own number, which follows it through the chain from harvest to processing and packing.

Why it matters

• Proof of origin. The lot number links the product to the certificate, the field and the harvest it came from.
• Fast answers. If a customer or certifier asks a question, the lot record answers it in minutes.
• Targeted action. If a problem is ever found, only the affected lot needs to be stopped, not everything.

At Pongpetch, every purchase and every delivery is recorded by lot, so that at any point in our chain we can answer the question: where did this come from?

First published on the Pongpetch Facebook page.