Batch / lot number

Every manufactured product comes from a run: a specific quantity of extract, carrier and other ingredients mixed, filled and packaged together. The batch number, also called a lot number, is the identifier stamped on that run. Everything made in it shares the number, and everything made in the next run gets a new one.

The number is what makes a certificate of analysis meaningful. A COA for batch 2406A says nothing about batch 2409C. Retailers should match the number on the label to the number on the report, and a brand that posts one generic COA for a product with no batch reference is not showing lab data for the item in hand.

Batch numbers also drive recalls. If a contaminant turns up, the affected run can be pulled by number without touching other inventory.

Record keeping is a legal duty for hemp sellers. USPS allows hemp and CBD products in domestic mail only when the mailer retains records establishing compliance, including laboratory test results, for no less than 3 years after mailing (USPS Pub 52 453.37). UPS requires shippers to hold all licenses and approvals needed to sell and ship hemp (UPS). Wholesale sales add tax paperwork: Washington, for example, requires sellers to keep reseller permit documentation for 5 years (WA DOR).