There are many important issues in terms of our quality/food safety management systems both when we carry out a new formulation study and during alternative supplier studies. Since each R&D study has different characteristics, the issues to be considered are based on the project change. The factors to be considered in the project may vary according to many issues such as whether there is a different ingredient in the project, whether it will start working with a new supplier, whether there is any consumer declaration on the packaging, whether there is a new tool-equipment being used. However, in an R&D process, the Product R&D department and many other departments such as Purchasing, Regulation, Quality, Marketing, Packaging R&D have different responsibilities. The different characteristics of each project and the responsibilities of many departments make it very difficult to follow up and manage the points to be considered. To help our factories manage this challenge in the R&D process, we compiled the issues to be considered regarding food safety in R&D processes in our article this month.

in New / Existing Product Development:

• The formulation of the new product, process conditions (if there is new equipment or process, attention should be paid separately), and standards should be approved by the HACCP team. The final product standard should cover all relevant regulation articles and comply with the limited values of these articles.
• Shelf life work should be carried out according to the worst conditions (use of scrap, storage, conditions in transportation/distribution, etc.). The result should be microbial, chemical, and sensory appropriate.
• The Regulatory Unit should perform formulation and label control before printing the package.
• If the new product is to be exported, it’s compliance with the countries’ legislation should also be checked.

When a product is to be exported to a new country at the time of launch or at a later time, there should be a system in terms of regulatory compliance control on the basis of the countries to be exported.

• How the rejection of the new product will be evaluated in accordance with our current rules and regulatory requirements should be determined.
• All necessary documents in terms of the Document Management System should be prepared before mass production (HACCP Product Identification Table, Hazard Analysis, Flow Chart, Formulation
• Standard, Discard / Allergen Table, etc.). If there is a product declaration, it should be verified (nutrients, salt reduced by … %, etc.). If there is a declaration that it will lose its value over time, such as vitamins, this declaration should be verified both in the first production and at the end of the shelf life.
• Packaging materials that come into contact with food should be suitable for food, and the necessary laboratory results should be followed.

Situations Requiring New Ingredient / Supplier Selection

• A new ingredient can be used during both new products and existing product development. New ingredients can also be purchased from existing approved suppliers or a new supplier.
• If it is a new supplier, it may be involved in finding an alternative supplier to the existing supplier for the relevant ingredient and new/existing product development.

Issues to be Considered in New Ingredient / Supplier Selection

• The new supplier must be eligible to enter the Approved Suppliers List prior to purchase.
• A list should be made of which documents we will request from our supplier in accordance with the low, medium, and high-risk group and quality, food safety, and consumer sensitivity systems of the ingredient we will buy. According to this list, our supplier must have the necessary documents and attention should be paid to the up-to-date of these documents.
• The necessity of conducting a supplier audit has to be checked. If there is an audit report, the result should be appropriate.
• Analysis results of all values in your spec should be provided before or at the latest with the mass production order. Food Safety parameters (such as toxins, GMOs, heavy metals, pesticides) should be the result of an accredited external laboratory.
• Allergen declaration must be included in the documents to be obtained from the supplier. The allergen declaration should also include risks from other suppliers’ ingredients in the same line or sidelines. If there are allergen risks arising from the same or sidelines, it should be stated in the declaration whether or not measures have been taken against these risks. When preparing the packaging label information of our new product, the declarations received from our suppliers in this detail should be taken into consideration.
• All documents required in terms of the Document Management System should be prepared before raw material purchase (HACCP Ingredient Hazard Analysis, Ingredient Standard, Ingredient Inspection and Experiment Quality Plan, etc.).
• Confirmation should be obtained from our supplier regarding the ingredient standard parameters, limits and analyses to be performed/performed by the external laboratory.