Traceability is the silent backbone of HACCP. When something goes wrong - a customer reports illness, a supplier issues a recall, a swab test flags Listeria - the question that matters is "can you tell me, in 30 minutes, where this batch came from and where it went?" In Ireland that answer is required by law, not best practice.
What Irish law requires
Under EU Regulation 178/2002, every food business in Ireland must operate "one step back, one step forward" traceability. That means for every ingredient and product you must be able to identify:
- Who supplied it (one step back).
- Who you supplied it to (one step forward) - relevant for B2B sales; not needed for direct-to-consumer.
Records must be kept for the full shelf life of the product plus the period covered by FSAI guidance, typically a minimum of 12 months for ambient stable foods.
The five records you actually need
- Goods-in log - supplier, product, batch code, quantity, date, condition.
- Internal batch code - how you link incoming raw material to a production run.
- Production records - which batches were used in which dishes / runs.
- Outgoing record (B2B) - what went where on what date.
- Recall log - any FSAI alerts received and the action you took.
Batch coding without overengineering
For a busy kitchen, the simplest internal batch code is YYYYMMDD-station-number. So a chicken curry cooked at the hot station on 12 May 2026 might be 20260512-HOT-3. Stick the code on the lid of every container and write it on the dish-of-the-day board. When something needs to be traced, the code lets you walk back through the goods-in log to the supplier without guesswork.
QR codes and digital traceability
Irish food processors and large foodservice operators are moving to QR-coded labels that link to a database row. This gives near-instant traceability and is increasingly expected by retail buyers. For small cafes and restaurants, paper records on a clipboard remain perfectly legal as long as they are complete and legible.
What to do if you receive an FSAI recall alert
- Stop using the named product immediately.
- Quarantine all stock that matches the batch code.
- Search your goods-in log for the supplier and confirm whether you have the batch.
- If you have served the product, notify the FSAI and record the response in your recall log.
- Dispose or return the stock as the supplier instructs.
- Brief the team and document the action.
Common traceability mistakes
- Throwing away outer packaging before recording the batch code.
- Decanting bulk goods into unlabelled containers ("rice bin").
- Not linking internal production codes to incoming batches.
- Keeping records only digitally on one person's phone.
Train the routine
Every food handler needs to know that batch codes matter and where to write them. The simplest path is a short HACCP online course with a traceability module - same-day certificate, immediate behavioural change in the goods-in area.
