Food Processing · Manufacturing workflow
Food processing batch production process: from recipe to dispatch
How a food plant moves one product from the order and recipe through ingredients, cooking, filling, QA release and FEFO dispatch, and the record each stage should leave on the batch.
By Nexfloe · · 7 min read
- Industry:
- Food Processing
- Article type:
- Manufacturing workflow
The stages below follow one typical product: tomato ketchup, made in batches in a steam-jacketed kettle and hot-filled into bottles and pouches for distributors and retail. A spice blending unit or a bakery will have different operations, but the sequence of records is much the same.
For each stage, the question is not only what happens but what record it leaves behind. Those records are what an inspector reads, and what the plant searches when a supplier reports a problem with a lot.
Quick answer
In a food processing plant, the batch process runs from the customer order to the recipe and batch size, material planning, ingredient and packaging receipt with incoming checks, the batch order, weighing, mixing and cooking with recorded parameters, filling and packing, in-process checks, final QA release, finished goods with shelf life, and dispatch earliest expiry first. Each stage should leave a record on the batch, so any pack can be traced back to its ingredient lots.
The process at a glance
- 1Customer orderOrders by product, pack size and date from distributors and retail.
- 2Recipe and batch sizeThe recipe version is fixed on the batch and scaled to its size.
- 3Material planningPaste, sugar, vinegar, spices and packaging checked against released stock by lot and expiry.
- 4Procurement and incoming checksLots received with expiry, sampled and released or held.
- 5Batch orderThe batch is placed on the kettle and filling line, and ingredients are issued by lot.
- 6Weighing, mixing and cookingIngredients weighed in by lot, cooked to temperature and time, Brix and pH recorded.
- 7Filling and packingHot fill, capping, coding and cartoning, with packaging lots recorded.
- 8In-process checksFill weight, fill temperature, seal and code checked during the run.
- 9Final QA and releaseTests on the batch, then release, rework or reject.
- 10Finished goods and dispatchReleased lots with best-before, picked earliest expiry first.
What happens at each stage, and what it records
1. Customer order
Distributors and retail customers order by product and pack size, often weekly, with some customers asking for a minimum remaining shelf life on delivery. Each order line records the product, pack, quantity, date and any shelf-life requirement, because that last point affects which stock can be sent.
2. Recipe and batch size
The ketchup recipe lists tomato paste, sugar, vinegar, salt, spices, onion and garlic, and any permitted preservative, with quantities for a standard batch. Bottles, caps, labels and cartons sit on the packing BOM. When a batch of a different size is released, the quantities are scaled to it, and the recipe version is fixed on the batch. The guide to multi-level BOM management covers how a base recipe and its packed variants fit together.
3. Material planning
Requirements from planned batches are compared with stock that QA has released, by lot and expiry, and with open purchase orders. Paste that expires before the batch date does not count as available. A useful shortage list names the batch it will stop.
4. Procurement and incoming checks
Tomato paste arrives in drums with the supplier's lot, production date and expiry, and usually a certificate of analysis. QA samples it for Brix, colour and condition before it is accepted. Packaging is checked too: a label lot with the wrong declaration is as serious as a bad ingredient. Until a lot is accepted it stays on hold and cannot be issued.
5. Batch order release
The batch is placed on the kettle and the filling line for its date and shift. Stores issues ingredients to it by lot, normally the earliest expiry first. From this point, everything recorded on the batch is linked to the lots inside it.
6. Weighing, mixing and cooking
Ingredients are weighed against the scaled recipe and added in sequence. The batch is cooked to a set temperature and held for a set time, then checked for Brix and pH before it is released to filling. Each reading is recorded at the kettle with the operator and the time. A reading outside its limit holds the batch until QA decides whether to adjust, re-cook or reject. These are typically the points the plant's HACCP plan names as critical, so the record has to be made at the time, not copied in later.
If good product from an earlier batch is reworked into this one, the earlier batch is recorded as an ingredient lot of this batch. Otherwise the trace breaks without anyone noticing.
7. Filling and packing
The ketchup is hot-filled, capped, inverted or held to treat the cap, cooled, coded with the batch number and best-before date, labelled and cartoned. One batch may be filled into several pack sizes, each becoming its own finished lot from the same batch. The bottle, cap, label and carton lots used are recorded against the batch, along with losses at filling: spillage, underweight packs, rejected bottles.
8. In-process checks
During the run, fill weight, fill temperature, cap seal and the printed code are checked at the frequency the plan sets. A failed check holds the affected output until QA records what happens to it. Catching an underfilled run or a smudged code here is far cheaper than finding it in the warehouse. The article on reducing rejection by checking at the operation explains why.
9. Final QA and release
The finished batch is held while final tests are done, which for many products includes a microbiological result that takes days. QA then records the disposition, release, rework or reject, with a name on it. A batch on hold cannot be picked, however urgent the order. This is positive release, and it only works if the system enforces it.
10. Finished goods and dispatch
Released lots go into the finished goods store with their production date and best-before. Dispatch picks the earliest expiry first, checking any minimum remaining shelf life the customer has asked for, and records which lots went on which delivery note. The invoice follows from the dispatch.
What to record and control at each stage
| Stage | Record | Control point |
|---|---|---|
| Customer order | Product, pack, quantity, date, shelf-life requirement | Remaining shelf life checked before promising stock |
| Recipe and batch size | Recipe version and scaled quantities on the batch | No change to batches already released |
| Material planning | Requirements and shortages by batch, against released stock | Expired or held lots not counted as available |
| Procurement | Supplier, lot, expiry, quantity, incoming result | Held lots cannot be issued |
| Batch order | Line, date, shift, ingredient lots issued | Earliest expiry issued first |
| Weighing, mixing and cooking | Weights, temperature, time, Brix, pH, operator, time of entry | A reading outside its limit holds the batch |
| Filling and packing | Quantities by pack size, packaging lots, losses with a reason | Packaging lots recorded against the batch |
| In-process checks | Fill weight, fill temperature, seal and code results | A failed check holds the affected output |
| Final QA and release | Test results and disposition with a name | Held batches cannot reach dispatch |
| Finished goods and dispatch | Lot, best-before, delivery note | Picked earliest expiry first |
Where the process usually breaks
- At receipt, when expiry is written on the drum but not recorded against the lot.
- At issue, when ingredients are taken from whichever bag is nearest, so the batch has no lot record.
- At the kettle, when temperatures are written on a rough sheet and copied up later.
- At rework, when leftover product is blended into a later batch with no record of where it came from.
- At packing, when packaging lots are not recorded, so a label recall cannot be scoped.
- At dispatch, when a batch waiting for a micro result is picked because the order is urgent.
How is one batch traced in a recall?
A recall runs in two directions. Forward: a supplier reports a problem with one paste lot, and the plant needs every batch that used it, every finished lot from those batches and every delivery note they went out on. Backward: a customer complaint arrives with a code from a bottle, and the plant needs the batch, its parameters and tests, the ingredient and packaging lots inside it and the suppliers. When each stage left its record on the batch, both are lookups. When the records are on paper, both are investigations, and a mock recall will show which.
How FleekERP records each stage
In FleekERP each stage above is a step on the batch's work order. Orders become batches, the formula is scaled to the batch size at release, and production planning places the batch on the line against capacity and material readiness. Stores receives ingredients by lot with expiry and issues them to the batch, operators and QA record quantities, losses, parameters and tests from their phones, a value outside tolerance holds the batch, finished lots carry a shelf life, and dispatch picks the earliest expiry first. The invoice syncs to Tally or Zoho. The food processing industry page shows the same flow from the plant's side.
How the process differs by plant type
- Spices and dry blends: grinding, sieving and blending, moisture and particle checks, and often sterilisation done in-house or at an outside unit.
- Bakery and snacks: short shelf life and daily production, frying or baking parameters, and oil or fat lots that run across several batches.
- Sauces, pickles and beverages: liquid batches with cooking or pasteurising parameters, Brix and pH, and filling losses as the main yield driver.
- Frozen and ready-to-eat: cooking and chilling or freezing parameters, cold store stock by lot, and short release windows.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main stages of food batch production?
Customer order, recipe and batch size, material planning, procurement with incoming checks, batch order release, weighing, mixing and cooking with recorded parameters, filling and packing, in-process checks, final QA and release, then finished goods and dispatch earliest expiry first.
What is positive release in food manufacturing?
A finished batch is held until QA has the test results and records a release with a name on it. Until then it cannot be picked for dispatch, even if an order is waiting. It only works when the system blocks held stock from being picked.
What is the difference between a forward and a backward trace?
A forward trace starts from an ingredient or packaging lot and finds every batch, finished lot and delivery note it reached. A backward trace starts from a finished pack or lot and finds the batch, its parameters and tests, the ingredient and packaging lots inside it and their suppliers.
How should rework be recorded in a food batch?
When product from an earlier batch is reworked into a new one, the earlier batch should be recorded as an ingredient lot of the new batch. That keeps the trace intact, so a recall on the first batch also finds the second.