Any product development activities should take into consideration the impact of food allergens.

When developing formulations for new products, consider the impact of the allergen status of the new product and existing products.

When considering new ingredients, investigate the allergen status of the ingredient thoroughly. If new allergens are being introduced to the manufacturing facility consider the impact of this, as allergen management processes may require updating.

When running product development trials consider the impact of introducing new allergens into the facility and onto the processing line. Special processes may need to be implemented to manage the ingredients, production schedule, cleaning processes etc. to ensure that the trial product does not change the allergen status of any existing products.

Any facilities used for product development such as laboratories, development kitchens or pilot plants should be included as part of risk review process. Even samples prepared for customers can potentially be an allergen risk.

An effective AMP will include procedures in place for formulation changes, control of factory trials, and introduction of new products to manage changes to allergens.