As a long-standing protagonist of good manufacturing practice in the food and drink industry, I was more than pleased to be invited to edit a series of books on practical approaches to food control. The series does not set out to re-invent the wheel, but rather to draw together collective wisdom in respect of particular food control issues and to present them in a way which will allow relevant managers, management or practitioners to address them on a practical level. It also tries to give a practical perspective for those concerned with law enforcement, some of whom will be newly challenged in face of EEC food control legislation. I am particularly delighted that the first in the series should be on the subject of hazard analysis and that the authors have real experience of HACCP applications within major and highly respected organizations. Sainsbury''s and Grand Metropolitan are to be commended for the support that they have given to this initiative, as are others who have endorsed contributions from their employees. I have also been impressed with the quality and scope of the input from the authors of this publication, Sara Mortimore and Carol Wallace, and hope that the example of practical application which runs as an ongoing theme throughout the book will help those applying HACCP for the first time to weave through the inevitable difficulties without undue shedding of blood, sweat and tears.
