Seed-to-sale tracking is the requirement, in many regulated markets, that licensed businesses record each plant or batch through its whole life: propagation, transplant, flowering, harvest, waste, drying, processing, lab sampling, packaging, transfer and retail sale. Plants or batches usually carry unique tags, often barcodes or RFID, and data is reported to a government system.
In practice
For a licensed grower, every plant moved, every gram of waste destroyed and every package transferred has to be logged, and the inventory must reconcile. Discrepancies can trigger audits or licence action. The aim is to prevent diversion to illegal markets and to allow recalls.
The concept resembles what GenetixBay does voluntarily for genetics: GB-IDs give lines, batches, plants and harvests permanent identifiers. The purposes differ. Seed-to-sale is compliance; GB-ID is provenance and preservation.
Rules differ by country, state, province and city, and change often. This is a general definition, not legal advice: check local rules.
Don't confuse with
- Track-and-trace: often used as a synonym; sometimes the broader supply-chain concept.
- Batch record: a business's internal production log.
