How lots, batches and expiration dates work

Every delivery of an ingredient or material is a lot, and everything you make is a batch, each with its own cost and date. Food is used soonest-expiring first, and packaging oldest first.

Lots and batches

What it is	Called	Numbered like
Ingredients and materials	A lot	L2026-11-FLO1
Recipes, outputs, packaging and products	A batch	B2026-11-CHO1

The number is the year, the month, the first three letters of the item's name and a count. You'll find each item's lots or batches under Stock on its page, with what's left of each one.

Each lot keeps what it cost when it came in, and each batch what it cost to make. When the price of flour goes up, the flour already on the shelf still costs what you paid for it.

Expiration dates

An ingredient lot expires after the ingredient's shelf life, counted from the day it was received. A batch expires after its item's shelf life, counted from the day it was made. If a make order finishes something that has no shelf life, its batch expires after 30 days.

You can change the date on a lot, and on a batch you added by hand. A batch from a make order keeps the date the order gave it.

Materials and packaging don't expire, so they have no date.

Which gets used first

Stock	Used first
Ingredients, recipes, outputs and products	The one that expires soonest
Materials and packaging	The one that came in first

Stock past its date is still offered first. When you start a make order that would use something expired, it's listed with a Used / Not used switch. Switch it off if you threw it out, and remove it with Adjust Stock and Damaged / Spoiled.