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Quality, Environmental, Safety and Health (QESH) are important subjects in every sector and the food industry has its own unique risks and challenges. Depending on whether your business manufactures, prepares or sells food you will have to consider some or all the following:

• Risk assessment
• Staff training
• Food hygiene
• HACCP
• Pest control
• Use of hot equipment, e.g. hobs, stoves, pressure cookers, ovens etc.
• Extraction processes
• Refrigeration and freezing
• Packaging
• Accident and incident management, including the provision of first aid
• Fire hazards
• Management of illnesses and prevention of contamination
• Manual handling
• Legionella
• Management of third party contractors, suppliers and service providers
• Stock rotation
• Quality assurance
• Customer safety
• Data management and protection, including GDPR
• Waste management

The QESH implications for food businesses may appear obvious but where proper processes aren’t in place, things can often get overlooked.

A management system can help you overcome such challenges, in that it formalises your processes, organises your documentation and streamlines your operations. This makes it easier for you to manage your business efficiently and ensure you are complying with relevant legislation and regulations. It also can give your more control over quality and cost, and help you make informed decisions.

An Integrated Management System (IMS) is considered the ultimate in management systems and creates a solid foundation for achieving ISO certification. An IMS brings all policies, procedures and documentation together into one place, which makes it user friendly for your staff.

Effective management systems are a key component of achieving UKAS accredited ISO certifications such as ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO27001 and ISO45001. These certifications demonstrate that you are a responsible organisation that delivers quality products and services, in an environmentally sustainable manner and with due regard for the wellbeing of your employees and security of data held.

How Alpha Swanson can help your food business

At Alpha Swanson, we have a proven approach to helping businesses develop and implement bespoke management systems and achieve internationally recognised standards. We have assisted numerous clients in gaining UKAS accredited certification to ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO27001 and ISO45001.

Even if you are not looking to work towards formal certification, a management system will provide huge benefits to your food business. We can help you create robust systems and processes that will provide a solid foundation for gaining these certifications in the future.

Contact our friendly team to find out how we can help you improve quality, manage your environmental impact and ensure you comply with health, safety and information security legislation.