Two deliveries can carry the same supplier name and still require different receiving records. A crate of whole açaí fruit arrives with seeds, stems, field debris and a harvest history. A pack of frozen pulp arrives after someone else has already extracted, screened and frozen the product. The line boundary is not a filing convention. It determines which checks are possible, which equipment is relevant and where a release decision can be defended.
A useful receiving record answers four questions: what physically arrived, what happened to it before arrival, what was checked at the gate, and who allowed it into production. Supplier, invoice and gross weight are not enough. The record should let a supervisor who was not present reconstruct the lot's condition and route.
Identify the physical feed form
Record whether the delivery is fresh whole fruit, frozen whole fruit, frozen pulp, chilled pulp or aseptically packed pulp. Whole fruit still contains the seed, so its route needs preparation and seed separation. Frozen whole berries are not equivalent to frozen pulp even though both are frozen. Pulp has already passed an extraction boundary and normally starts at receiving, finishing and transfer instead of washing and pulping.
Describe the package as part of the feed definition: crate, sack, block, bag-in-box, drum or aseptic bag. Note net mass, pack count, package integrity, visible thaw or ice formation, and the temperature at receipt. For aseptic supply, record the fitment and whether opening the package changes the sterile boundary the supplier intended. A pulp-only project should not buy a fruit washer or seed separator merely because the site also sells whole-fruit lines; the inlet decides the equipment scope.
Track harvest or freezing history
For whole fruit, capture harvest date and location, holding before delivery, transport conditions and any preparation already performed. The Embrapa Amapá Açaí Seguro technology describes a fruit preparation sequence that includes selection, washing and sanitizing, a controlled thermal step and immediate cooling before pulping. Whether that work belongs to the fruit supplier, your plant or neither party must be written into the scope. A delivery note that says “sanitized” does not establish which step was used, at what conditions, or whether it was verified for your product.
For frozen pulp, record the freezing date or period, the declared prior treatment, the incoming temperature and the storage history. For chilled pulp, record the remaining shelf life stated by the supplier and the receiving temperature. For aseptic pulp, record lot identity and package condition. These fields are not administrative decoration: they decide whether the material can be released to the route you planned, or whether it needs a different disposition.
Source: Açaí Seguro technology page (Embrapa Amapá, 2021); Juice HACCP hazards and controls guidance (FDA, 2004).
Record seed and foreign material checks
Whole-fruit receiving should describe the inspection method and the sampling basis, not merely the result. Look for stems, leaves, sand, stones, damaged or mouldy fruit, pest activity and free liquid. Record the mass or count removed and where it went. The person accepting the lot needs the authority to reject it before unloading ties up the receiving area.
Pulp receiving needs its own checks. Inspect package integrity, evidence of temperature abuse and declared foreign-material controls. Where the specification requires it, examine a sample for seed fragments and coarse material. A seed fragment is both a quality defect and a physical hazard; “visually acceptable” is not a measurement. Record what was examined, how large the sample was, what was found and who made the release decision.
Source: Juice HACCP hazards and controls guidance (FDA, 2004).
Define release to production
Write acceptance criteria before the first delivery, not after a disputed load. Include the feed form, supplier lot, internal receipt number, arrival time, condition, checks performed and the disposition: accepted, held, reworked, returned or rejected. Name the role authorised to release the material and the role authorised to accept a deviation. If the lot is split, give each part its own identity so a partial rejection cannot disappear into an accepted batch.
The record should also link forward. Note the production date, batch or tank that received the lot, and any blending or rework. If the product falls within the juice HACCP rule's definition, the receiving step belongs in the hazard analysis and the records must be available for review; purees of edible fruit portions are included in the rule's definition of juice. Confirm applicability with a competent process authority rather than deciding from the product name alone.
Source: Juice HACCP hazards and controls guidance (FDA, 2004).
A receiving record that can be audited
A compact form is easier to use than a long questionnaire. The fields below cover the decisions that change the line: feed identity, condition, checks, prior treatment and release. Add product-specific fields only when they support a decision someone will actually make.
The final entry is the most important one. “Accepted” without a name, time and basis is a permission slip, not a record. When the receiving record is complete, the first equipment in the line has a defensible input and the enquiry can describe the real process boundary.
| Field | What to record | Why it changes the line |
|---|---|---|
| Feed form | Whole fruit, frozen pulp, chilled pulp or aseptic pulp | Sets the first process step and the equipment scope |
| Package and mass | Pack type, count, net mass, integrity | Defines handling, thawing or opening duty |
| Identity | Supplier lot plus internal receipt number | Keeps split and blended lots traceable |
| Condition | Temperature, ice, leakage, damage, odour | Supports accept, hold or reject |
| Prior treatment | Declared preparation, thermal step or none | Prevents assuming a control that was not applied |
| Checks | Method, sample basis, findings, removed material | Makes the release decision measurable |
| Disposition | Accepted, held, reworked, returned or rejected; name and time | Establishes who released the lot |
Source: Juice HACCP hazards and controls guidance (FDA, 2004).
Sources and boundaries
- Embrapa Amapá — Açaí Seguro: choque térmico no processamento do açaí para segurança alimentar e saúde única. Describes a fruit preparation practice before pulping, including selection, washing and sanitizing, a controlled thermal step and immediate cooling. The page presents the practice and its stated sensory work; it is not a universal plant setpoint.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Guidance for Industry: Juice Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Hazards and Controls Guidance, First Edition. Explains the juice HACCP rule, the definition of juice that includes purees, hazard analysis, control measures, validation and record expectations. Applicability to a specific açaí product must be established by the processor and its process authority.
Accessed 28 October 2026. Links open the publisher’s page. This article is editorial analysis; it does not certify a process, a machine or a finished product.
Related analysis and project pages
Define the receiving boundary before the equipment list
Tell us whether you receive whole fruit, frozen pulp or aseptic pulp, and what evidence arrives with it. That single decision changes the first machines in the line.
Discuss your receiving scope