432 Chilled foods in the operation Documentation of HACCP plans to meet the seven fundamental principles of HACCP as laid out by Codex Alimentarius is also required. These documented plans, together with associated operational procedures, records of operation and evidence of maintenance of the critical control points, often form enough of a basis for production activities to be controlled and managed by using the HACCP plans as a quality system-see principle 7: ' Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their More recently businesses have needed to consider the impact of their operations on the environment. Moves to standardise environmental control and management have been formalised within ISo 14001. This international standard 'Environmental Management Systems- Specification for Guidance and Use has strong links to Iso 9001 and covers issues such as policy statements, process control, system structure, training, awareness and compe tence, system documentation, checking and corrective action, preventive action, record keeping, system auditing and management review. The stated aim of Iso 14001 is to ' provide organisations with the elements of an effective environmental management system which can be integrated with other management requirements. This approach is an obvious lead in to the concept of incorporating environmental objectives within a TQM system Yet more recently, safety systems have been targeted for incorporation within he suite of quality system functions and Bs 8800(Guide to Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems') provides a framework within which to manage safety systems and safety training activities. Given the increasing importance of staff occupational safety and the need to minimise exposure to potential litigation, manufacturers are well advised to treat this area of activity seriously. Companies may also have an interest in other systems related to staff training-i.e the Investors in People standard within the UK, organised through local Training and Enterprise Councils, which requires proper evidence of structured training programs for staff, records of all training activities and clear benefits being derived from both staff and employers from In a critical key development the British Retail Consortium(BRC)has issued its core Technical Standard for Companies Supplying Retailer Branded ood Products. This standard is being used by a large number of UK retailers as the definitive standard for suppliers and terms of business are being agreed which include the requirement for companies to meet this standard. The BRC standard itself focuses on a large number of essential and recommended good manufacturing practices and is underpinned by the need to establish supporting nanagement systems to back up these manufacturing practices. In essence 6 key areas are involved, HACCP systems, quality management systems, factory environmental standards, product control, process control and personnel lementation of the standard is being handled through third-party inspection whose remit is to ensure compliance of the operating sitein the operation. Documentation of HACCP plans to meet the seven fundamental principles of HACCP as laid out by Codex Alimentarius is also required. These documented plans, together with associated operational procedures, records of operation and evidence of maintenance of the critical control points, often form enough of a basis for production activities to be controlled and managed by using the HACCP plans as a quality system – see principle 7: ‘Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.’ More recently businesses have needed to consider the impact of their operations on the environment. Moves to standardise environmental control and management have been formalised within ISO 14001. This international standard ‘Environmental Management Systems – Specification for Guidance and Use’ has strong links to ISO 9001 and covers issues such as policy statements, process control, system structure, training, awareness and compe￾tence, system documentation, checking and corrective action, preventive action, record keeping, system auditing and management review. The stated aim of ISO 14001 is to ‘provide organisations with the elements of an effective environmental management system which can be integrated with other management requirements’. This approach is an obvious lead in to the concept of incorporating environmental objectives within a TQM system. Yet more recently, safety systems have been targeted for incorporation within the suite of quality system functions and BS 8800 (‘Guide to Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems’) provides a framework within which to manage safety systems and safety training activities. Given the increasing importance of staff occupational safety and the need to minimise exposure to potential litigation, manufacturers are well advised to treat this area of activity seriously. Companies may also have an interest in other systems related to staff training – i.e. the Investors in People standard within the UK, organised through local Training and Enterprise Councils, which requires proper evidence of structured training programs for staff, records of all training activities and clear benefits being derived from both staff and employers from their training programme. In a critical key development the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has now issued its core Technical Standard for Companies Supplying Retailer Branded Food Products. This standard is being used by a large number of UK retailers as the definitive standard for suppliers and terms of business are being agreed which include the requirement for companies to meet this standard. The BRC standard itself focuses on a large number of essential and recommended good manufacturing practices and is underpinned by the need to establish supporting management systems to back up these manufacturing practices. In essence 6 key areas are involved, HACCP systems, quality management systems, factory environmental standards, product control, process control and personnel. Implementation of the standard is being handled through third-party inspection bodies whose remit is to ensure compliance of the operating site with the 432 Chilled foods