Lots, Expiry, and QA Holds

FEFO not just FIFO, QA hold and release, receiving QC, and defensible expiry.

1. Lot codes and date codes done rightDesign a lot-coding scheme that ties every unit you make back to exactly one lot — and learn why the code that traces your product is a different thing from the date you print for the shopper.
2. FEFO, not just FIFOHow to pick and rotate perishable stock by which lot expires soonest instead of which one arrived first — and why a system that only records the lot isn't enough.
3. Put a batch on hold, then release it on evidenceHow to give a batch a status that keeps it from shipping or being used until an authorized person releases it on real evidence — and why that block is the piece a lot-tracking field cannot do on its own.
4. Catch a bad input at the dock, before it reaches a batchHow to inspect and record what arrives at receiving — condition, temperature, COA, allergen, and the supplier lot — so a bad input is caught and held before it can be used in production.
5. Set an expiry date you can defendHow to back an expiry date with evidence, tell a quality date from a safety control, label it with the phrase that matches what it means, and run a routine that moves near-expiry stock before it becomes waste.