Product Design & Development Procedure

Define what can be developed within site capability

The procedure requires technical management to define and apply development scope restrictions with reference to site capability and established hazard controls. Those restrictions consider allergen, microbiological and physical contamination risks, product composition and product claims.

Proposed products and changes are assessed for compatibility with the site’s facilities, equipment and processing capability, as well as their effect on existing products, production activities and site conditions. Development does not progress where the required conditions or controls are unavailable or cannot be implemented in a controlled manner.

This gives the development process a clear technical boundary before resources are committed to trials or launch activity.

Control progression through defined development gates

The procedure uses a staged development process with defined decision points from concept and feasibility through product development, scale-up, factory trial, product approval and post-approval integration.

At concept and feasibility stage, the proposed product is reviewed against intended characteristics, site capability, customer requirements, known hazards, regulatory constraints and raw-material approval needs. Bench or kitchen development then tests whether the intended formulation can achieve the required product characteristics without introducing uncontrolled hazards.

Before factory trial, production or operations management assesses process requirements, equipment capability and operating conditions. Where factory trials are required, they are planned and coordinated by the NPD Manager and used to establish whether the product can be manufactured consistently at site scale against defined safety, legality and quality requirements.

Keep HACCP assessment connected to development decisions

The procedure gives the HACCP team a defined role throughout development. New or changed products, materials and process conditions are assessed to determine whether they introduce new or modified hazards and whether existing controls remain valid.

Where further hazard assessment or additional control measures are required, those requirements must be addressed before the relevant development stage can progress. This keeps product-development decisions connected to the site’s food-safety controls rather than treating HACCP review as a final-stage check.

Require evidence before product approval and routine production

Final approval requires technical management to review the development evidence and confirm that the product can be manufactured consistently to the defined safety, legality and quality requirements. The HACCP team leader or an authorised HACCP team member approves new products and relevant product, packaging or process changes before introduction into the factory environment.

Before routine production, the procedure also requires the affected FSQMS controls to be completed or updated. These include finished-product specifications, storage and dispatch requirements, allergen information, packaging and labelling controls, applicable raw-material and primary-packaging approvals, process specifications, work instructions and product-release criteria.

This makes pre-launch approval dependent on more than a successful product trial: the supporting management-system controls must also be ready for routine manufacture.

Control development changes before implementation

Changes identified during development are recorded and reviewed for their potential effect on product safety, legality and quality, HACCP plans and hazard controls, site procedures and operational controls, and raw-material, packaging and finished-product specifications.

Where changes affect controlled documents or site controls, the required updates are identified within the gated development process and implemented before routine production. Development does not progress to product approval where necessary control or documentation changes have not been defined.

Substantiate shelf life with documented evidence

Shelf-life determination forms part of product approval before routine production. The procedure requires the NPD Manager to coordinate the work and technical management to approve the trial design, including the samples, storage conditions, assessment intervals and acceptance criteria.

Trials are designed to reflect expected manufacture, storage, transport and distribution, use and handling. Assessment can include microbiological, chemical and organoleptic or sensory criteria, together with any additional product-specific testing needed to support the decision.

Shelf life is assigned only where the available evidence supports the product remaining safe, legal and of the required quality for the stated period. Where a pre-production shelf-life trial is impractical, the procedure allows a documented science-based justification using relevant scientific data, product characteristics, comparable-product information or other valid technical evidence.

Define responsibilities across development, validation and manufacture

The procedure allocates responsibility across the functions that shape the development outcome. Technical or quality management owns the control system, scope restrictions, technical assessment, approval and shelf-life requirements. The NPD Manager coordinates development stages, prototypes, trials, changes and supporting evidence.

Production or operations management assesses process capability and executes controlled factory trials and routine manufacture. The HACCP team evaluates hazard implications and control validity, while quality assurance evaluates trial outputs and supports verification of development and validation results.

This allocation keeps commercial development activity connected to the technical, operational and food-safety decisions needed before a product becomes part of routine production.

A product-development procedure within the wider FSQMS

Within the Food Industry Hub FSQMS Policies and Procedures Suite, this procedure connects product development with supplier and raw-material approval, specifications, allergen management, packaging and labelling, inspection and testing, product release, control of operations, document control and training.

For technical and NPD teams, it provides a developed framework for moving from concept to routine manufacture while keeping hazard assessment, validation evidence, shelf-life support and the required FSQMS updates visible within the same controlled process.