Production or packaging batch

I'd like to ask you for clarification regarding the production batch number on the label: if the minimum durability date is indicated with the day and month, is it mandatory to also indicate the word "batch"?

Thank you very much, Giovanni

The lawyer Dario Dongo, Ph.D. in European food law, answers

Dear John,

The indication of the production batch is regulated by Directive 2011/91/EU, implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree 231/2017.

Lot or lot: definition and obligations

Directive 2011/91/EU defines as «Partita» – or «lot», in the English text – as:

• 'a set of sales units of a foodstuff, produced, manufactured or packaged under practically identical circumstances'(Article 1).

Any foodstuff may be marketed only if accompanied by an indication – on the label or on the packaging or container (for non-prepackaged products) o, in the absence of, in commercial documents (for sales of non-prepackaged products in the stages prior to sale to the final consumer) – aimed at identifying the batch or lot to which it belongs. This obligation does not apply to:

• 'agricultural products which, upon leaving the agricultural holding, are: (i) sold or delivered to storage, preparation or packaging centres; (ii) sent to producer organisations; (iii) collected for immediate integration into an operational preparation or processing system';

• 'non-prepackaged foods, packaged at the request of the purchaser or prepackaged for immediate sale' (pre-wrapped CDs);

• foods sold in bulk to the final consumer;

• 'packages or containers whose largest side has a surface area of ​​less than 10 cm2';

• 'individual portions of ice cream'. The indication allowing the batch to be identified in these cases appears on multipacks (Directive 2011/91/EU, Article 2).

Determination and indication methods

'The match [or lot, ed] it is determined in each case by the producer, manufacturer or packager of the food product in question or by the first seller established within the Union'.

As regards the indication mode, the alphanumeric codes freely established by the responsible operator to identify the batch or lot must be preceded by 'laid down by the letter "L", except where it is distinguishedNo. clearly from the other indications on the label' (Directive 2011/91/EU, Article 3).

Minimum durability date or expiry date

'When the date of minimum durability or the use-by date appears on the label, the indication' of the match or lot 'may not accompany the foodstuff, provided that the date clearly indicates and in order at least the day and il month' (Directive 2011/91/EU, Article 5).

Conclusions

The operator responsible for providing food information—that is, pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/11, the owner of the trademark under which the product is marketed—may freely include the date of minimum durability or the expiry date on the label, provided they include the day and month, as an alternative to the batch code. In this case, the word "batch" or the letter "L" need not be added.

In any case, it is worth highlighting two aspects:

• the minimum shelf life or expiry date (for products that are rapidly perishable from a microbiological point of view) must always be reported on theexternal packaging, that is the so-called logistical unit (the cardboard box or the packaging made of heat-shrinkable plastic material containing the individual sales units. See EU Regulation no. 1169/11, art. 8, point 7, last paragraph);

• the 'almost identical circumstances' production or packaging dates that define the batch or lot may not coincide with the daily production (associated with a minimum durability date or expiry date) in the case of large-scale industrial production.

It is therefore recommended, in the event of daily production or packaging of numerous sales units, to identify specific batches – referring to different production shifts or different suppliers or raw materials used – with the specific aim of limiting the number of sales units identified by a single batch. Remembering that, in the event of news or well-founded concern of a food safety risk, presumed to be at risk - 'unless, following a thorough assessment, it is unfounded to believe that the remainder of the batch, lot or consignment is at risk' – the entire lot or batch to which it belongs (EC Regulation No. 178/02, Article 14.6).

Dario Dongo

References

• Legislative Decree 15 December 2017, n. 231. Sanctioning provisions for violation of the provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, relating to the provision of food information to consumers and the adaptation of national legislation to the provisions of the same Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 and Directive 2011/91/EU. Normattiva (Last updated to the document published on 13/07/2024) https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2017-12-15;231

• Directive 2011/91/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on indications or marks identifying the lot to which a foodstuff belongs (codification). http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/91/oj

• Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety. Consolidated text: 01/01/2026 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/178/2026-01-01