Product Packaging Control Procedure

Make packaging suitability an evidence-based approval condition

Before primary packaging is approved for purchase or specified for use, the procedure requires Technical Management to ensure that the packaging supplier is provided with relevant food, packaging and usage characteristics that may affect suitability. This gives the supplier the information needed to confirm whether the packaging is fit for the intended application.

Approval for food contact use is then tied to supporting evidence. Primary packaging is not confirmed as suitable unless certificates of conformity or equivalent evidence demonstrate both compliance with applicable food safety legislation and suitability for the intended use. The procedure therefore makes technical evidence a defined condition of the suitability decision rather than an administrative record gathered afterwards.

Supplier approval and performance monitoring remain governed by the Supplier & Raw Material Approval and Performance Monitoring Procedure, while packaging specifications used for purchasing or specification decisions are managed through the Specifications Management Procedure. The Product Packaging Control Procedure uses those interfaces without taking over their separate control functions.

Define direct-contact liner and bag characteristics before purchase

For liners and bags used in direct contact with ingredients or work in process, the procedure requires approved requirements to address colour and tear resistance. Colour characteristics must make the material distinguishable from the product, while tear resistance must be sufficient to minimise the potential for accidental contamination.

Technical Management defines and maintains these requirements through approved packaging specifications. Procurement / Purchasing then buys direct-contact liners and bags only against current approved specifications, keeping the technical characteristics used for selection connected to the purchasing control.

Keep obsolete packaging unavailable while disposition is pending

Obsolete packaging control extends beyond identifying material that is no longer valid. Technical Management oversees the control status of obsolete packaging, labels and printed materials, while Operations separates obsolete items from current packaging, maintains a clear obsolete status and keeps them unavailable for use while authorised disposition is pending.

Packaging, labels and printed materials awaiting disposition are controlled in accordance with the Non-Conforming Product Control Procedure. For obsolete printed materials, disposal methods must make the material unsuitable for further use, including rendering trademarked materials unusable where applicable. Waste-disposal activities arising from this process are governed separately by the Waste & Waste Disposal Procedure.

Allocate responsibility across technical, purchasing and operational control

The procedure gives each function a distinct part in the control system. Senior Management provides the resources and communication needed for packaging suitability assessment, approval and obsolete-packaging control. Technical / Quality Management establishes the suitability checks and supporting evidence for primary packaging, maintains requirements for direct-contact liners and bags, and oversees obsolete-material status through disposition.

Procurement / Purchasing may purchase primary packaging only after Technical / Quality Management has confirmed that the relevant product, packaging and usage information has been provided to the supplier. Operations Management controls obsolete packaging physically within operational areas and manages handling and disposal under Technical Management oversight. Employees involved in packaging activities are required to use only packaging, liners, bags, labels and printed materials that have been approved or released, and to report obsolete, unsuitable, damaged or incorrectly controlled packaging.

Maintain storage control without duplicating the storage procedure

Accepted packaging and part-used packaging returned to storage remain subject to controls intended to prevent contamination and deterioration. The Product Packaging Control Procedure makes that requirement visible, while the Storage Facilities Procedure defines the storage conditions and the control of part-used packaging materials in storage.

This boundary is significant because the packaging procedure concentrates on suitability, approval and packaging-status control while directing storage, supplier performance, specification management, non-conforming material and waste disposal to the procedures that govern those activities.

Retain evidence of suitability and obsolete-material control

Records generated through the procedure may include packaging-supplier suitability communications, primary-packaging certificates of conformity or equivalent supporting evidence, packaging-suitability evidence reviews, obsolete-packaging identification and status-control records, and disposal records for obsolete packaging and printed materials.

Together, these records preserve evidence of the information considered before packaging approval and of the controls applied when packaging or printed materials become obsolete.

A packaging-control procedure within the wider FSQMS

Within the Food Industry Hub FSQMS Policies and Procedures Suite, the Product Packaging Control Procedure provides the document-specific controls for primary-packaging suitability, direct-contact liner and bag characteristics, and obsolete packaging. It interfaces with supplier approval, specifications, storage, non-conforming product control, waste disposal, document control and training without attributing those supporting procedures’ mechanisms to the packaging procedure itself.

For technical, quality, purchasing and operations teams, the document provides a structured basis for controlling packaging from suitability assessment and purchasing conditions through to the identification and disposition of materials that are no longer valid for use.