Skip to main content

Trace a lot in a recall

Click Trace back on a batch or Trace Forward on a purchase. FourFoxes walks the chain and tells you if any records are missing.

A trace answers two questions in a recall: what went into this batch, and where did this lot end up.

Trace back from a batch

  1. Open the batch.
  2. Click Trace back.
  3. FourFoxes walks the chain: the batch, each ingredient lot in it, the purchase it came from, and the supplier.

Trace forward from a purchase

  1. Open the ingredient purchase (a supplier just called about a lot).
  2. Click Trace Forward.
  3. FourFoxes shows every batch that used the lot, then the packaged lots and shipments downstream, including the customer shipped to.

Read the banner first. A banner pinned to the top says whether the trace is complete or how many data gaps it found. A gap does not stop the trace; it tells you what you cannot prove. Each gap is named in place, for example:

  • no ingredient consumption records for the batch (nothing was linked)
  • a purchase that is not linked to any batch
  • a supplier lot number or a customer that was not recorded
  • a batch recorded before stock tracking, or an imported batch with no lot records
  • a batch packaged before lot tracking, or packaging recorded with no lots
  • a batch not yet packaged
  • an older link whose quantity is unknown, labelled legacy

If someone on your team wrote a warning note on a batch, for example to explain a missing link, the trace shows that note as the gap reason.

You can export the exact trace you are looking at with Export PDF or Export CSV. The file is generated in the background and the download link lasts 24 hours.

Traces require the Member role or higher.

Recall trace page A trace back from a batch. Export PDF and Export CSV buttons sit at the top right. A yellow banner says the trace is incomplete with one data gap. Below it the chain lists the batch, two ingredient lots, the purchase and the supplier, and the lot with no supplier lot number carries a supplier lot not recorded badge. Recall trace (trace back) Export PDF Export CSV This trace is INCOMPLETE — 1 data gap detected. 1 batch Batch 1027 qty: — ingredient_lot Ingredient lot Habanero peppers (supplier lot L2410-03) qty: 12.5 procurement Procurement 88 (2026-10-14) qty: — supplier Supplier Valley Pepper Farm qty: — ingredient_lot Ingredient lot Garlic (supplier lot —) supplier lot not recorded 2 qty: 2
The banner gives the gap count (1); each gap is named on the line it affects (2).
Practice before you need it

Run a trace on a recent batch this week. Every gap it reports is something you can fix now, while it is a chore instead of an emergency.

Related