Container Labels for a Production Plan
When you make food (or anything else) fresh, every container needs its own label: what it is, what's in it, the allergens, the use-by date, the lot number and how to store it. This article covers printing those labels for a whole production plan in one go.
You get one PDF with one label per page, in the label template you choose, in the same order as your pick list (by SKU).
Before you print: set up the product
Open a product and fill in two fields:
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Shelf life (days) | How long the product keeps after it's made. A run that finishes on the 3rd with a shelf life of 5 gets a use-by date of the 8th. |
| Storage instructions | Free text printed on the label, such as "Keep refrigerated. Reheat 2 minutes." |
You can also fill them in by spreadsheet. They're the last two columns of the product import and export (see Importing Products with Recipes and Bundles).
How the use-by date gets set
When a production run finishes, Iraca writes the use-by date to the run's lot, as long as the lot doesn't already have an expiry date:
- A date you typed when completing the run always wins.
- A lot that already has an expiry date keeps it.
- Otherwise it's the day the run finished plus the product's shelf life, counted on your business's calendar (a run finished at 9 pm is that day, not the next one in another time zone).
- A product with no shelf life gets no date.
Set up the label template
In the label builder, add the elements you want. New ones for fresh food:
| Element | Prints |
|---|---|
| Use-By Date | "Use By: 2026-10-17" |
| Storage Instructions | The product's storage text |
| Customer Name and Delivery Day | Only on per-order labels (below) |
Together with the existing product name, ingredients, allergens, nutrition facts, lot number and lot QR code, that's a complete meal-prep container label.
Allergens are never worked out for you. A wrong or missing allergen is a recall, so Iraca prints only what a person typed. On a plan's labels that's the allergen statement on the menu item (your cycle's menu first), and if the item has none, the text in the template's own Allergens element. If neither says anything, the label prints no allergen line. Check your menu items before you print.
Printing the labels
- Open the plan and click Print labels.
- Choose a label template, or leave the default layout.
- Click Download PDF.
Commit the plan first if you can. A committed plan has its production runs, and each label carries its run's lot number. On a draft plan the lot is blank because no run exists yet.
By default you get one label per unit to be made. A product you already have enough of on the shelf isn't made, so it gets no label. Sub-recipes (a sauce that goes into a dish) are made but never labelled, because the customer doesn't receive them on their own.
The use-by date on a label is the run's own date once it has finished. Before that, it's what the date would be if the run finished today.
One label per order, for the bag
Tick One label per order, with the customer name and day and you get a label for every unit on the orders in the plan, showing the customer's name and the day it's going out. Kits are labelled as the containers they're made of. Units already shipped aren't counted.
If your template has no Customer Name or Delivery Day element, Iraca adds a strip along the bottom edge of each label so the name never prints blank. Put the elements in the template if you want to choose where they go.
Limits
- One PDF holds up to 1,000 labels. A bigger plan is refused with a message saying how many it would be; plan a shorter range or split it.
- A plan with nothing to label (or no open orders, for per-order labels) tells you so rather than giving you a blank file.
- All labels in one PDF use one template, so they're all the same size.
Your meal-prep cycle keeps up
When a plan was made from a menu cycle, the cycle follows the kitchen:
- In production once you commit the plan.
- Completed once every run has finished or been cancelled and at least one finished.
Who can do what
| Owner / Admin | Team members | |
|---|---|---|
| Set shelf life and storage on a product | ✓ | — |
| Print a plan's labels | ✓ | — |
Printing labels needs the Label Builder on your plan as well as the Production module. If your plan doesn't include it, the button doesn't appear.