SQF Product Development and Commercialization

Dear Bob,

I suspect that you are going to have to be considerably more specific with yr post in order to get some meaningful replies.

For example - product, process = ? Canning perhaps ?
Which specific section of SQF required to be complied with ? presumably HACCP related?.

There is probably some truth in the comments of the previous poster regarding familiarity with SQF however a large part of all these FSMS standards is ultimately rather similar so that people here will probably recognise the basic objective(s) given a bit more of a nudge.

Rgds / Charles.C

My nudge:

I am seeking a general procedure that addresses section 4.3.1 of SQF 2000, v. 3. Specifically, the sections are:

4.3.1.1 Methods and Responsibility for Product Development
4.3.1.2 Validation of New Products
4.3.1.3 Shelf Life Trials
4.3.1.4 Validation of Food Safety
4.3.1.5 Records of Product Development Maintained

Hopefully, someone, somewhere, has addressed this section if they have been registered to Level 3. (and many companies have attained this registration) It does not have to pertain to thermally processed food; I am seeking the template and sub-elements for a typical Product Development process. I will adapt it to my process.

Again, is there anything out there?

Dear Bob,

I suspect that you are going to have to be considerably more specific with yr post in order to get some meaningful replies.

For example - product, process = ? Canning perhaps ?
Which specific section of SQF required to be complied with ? presumably HACCP related?.

There is probably some truth in the comments of the previous poster regarding familiarity with SQF however a large part of all these FSMS standards is ultimately rather similar so that people here will probably recognise the basic objective(s) given a bit more of a nudge.

Rgds / Charles.C

Can anyone help Bob out?

I'm not a big fan of generic documents since every company really should develop their own. I would suggest you mirror the code and fill in the blanks as you go along. For example- 4.3.1.1 -

The (job title) is responsible for developing and converting product concepts to commercialization. The formulation is determined by starting with a recipe either provided by the customer, or developed as the initial trial formual by the R&D Department. This is translated to the processing floor through a seried of trials which may include documented adjustments to the formula as necessary to ensure compliance with SQF System requirements including customer and regulatory requirements. All activities in production areas must adgere to existing safety and quality requirements including following the HACCP Plan. If at any time, the proposed process is planned such that it does not follow the HACCP Plan, that experimental product may not be sold or provided outside of company control as a sample....

Follow through the code, address each requirement or concern, describe what you do or reference existing procedures you might already have. In many cases companies already have systems in place and its a matter of describing them. Once you do that - review again to see if improvments are needed to better ensure safety and quality. Having a set format for your documents will also help quite a bit.

Hope that helps some...

Thanks Cathy, Did this help you Bob - any further questions?