0.3 Food safety: introduction to pest control  (Page 3/3)

Good hygiene practices

Denying pests food and shelter in your facility is another way of preventing infestation. This can be achieved by practicing good hygiene practices, effective cleaning, and proper waste disposal.

By using good hygiene practices, your staff is removing the food and shelter pests need to survive. All staff should be aware of these good hygiene practices:

• Keep the factory clean.
• Have proper waste control.
• Be sure food in preparation areas is kept covered.
• Clean spillages quickly and effectively.
• Be sure no food is left outside the facility.
• Keep food stored off the floor and away from walls.
• Be sure raw materials are checked upon intake and during storage.
• Be sure food is stored in pest-proof containers.
• Keep drains clean and screened.
• Allow no external shelter.

Control of pests

Prevention methods should protect you from the ingression of pests; however it is a good practice to ensure there are control measures in place to minimise the risk of pest infestation in your factory.

As a food safety manager, you have a responsibility to ensure control measures are in place.

There are two types of pest control:

• physical
• chemical.

Both types are designed to control specific types of pests, but by their very nature they should be correctly used since they themselves could pose a risk to your product or staff.

Physical control

Physical means of control is usually the preferred option. By their very nature, however, physical means of control are not always 100% effective, a point that should be very seriously considered. In the event of a significant infestation, physical controls cannot cope with the numbers of pests, so alternative methods of elimination must be considered.

Typical physical control methods include

• electric fly killers
• rodent traps
• sticky fly strips
• curtains
• bird screens
• pheromone traps.

Since several of these methods will actually kill pests, you should consider the location and placement of control mechanisms such as electric fly killers and sticky fly traps in order to avoid possible product contamination.

Chemical control

Chemical control measures are much more effective than physical control methods: however, chemical substances do pose possible risks to staff, so their use should be frequently and carefully controlled and monitored. Chemical substances also pose a risk to food contamination, so they should also be used only under controlled and monitored conditions.

Because of the risks involved, it is good practice to employ a professional to carry out chemical pest control.

Chemical controls include

• rodenticides
• insecticides
• fumigates.

Monitoring

Inspection of raw materials for pests

An area of concern is the ingression of pests by way of raw materials. You must, as a food safety manager, be aware of your raw materials and possible pests that could live on

or infest certain raw materials. For example, some raw materials are prone to certain pests, such as flour, in which certain species of moths can live.

Systems should be in place always to inspect the raw materials, including packaging, delivered to the factory.

All consignments should be inspected for signs of pest infestation. If there is evidence of infestation, consignments should be rejected.

If specific products are known to be subject to invasion or contamination by certain kinds of pests, it is good manufacturing practice to know your supplier’s pest control systems.

Professional advice

When developing and implementing a pest control system, you may well find it advisable to seek professional advice and assistance, particularly in the event of serious problems of infestation.

Professional pest control companies can also carry out regular inspections of your facility and provide advice on best practices. If you do employ a professional pest control company, it is still your company’s responsibility, however, to ensure the safety of the product. You cannot transfer your responsibility for effective pest control to some outside entity.

Regular inspections

Regular inspections of the premises must be carried out to ensure that there is no pest infestation and that the premises are not open to the risk of pest ingression. When carrying out inspections, you will need to focus on particular areas: food storage areas, behind and underneath equipment, unlit undisturbed areas, and waste storage areas.

If there is evidence of any pest ingression or infestation, immediate corrective action should be taken to bring the situation under control. Any delay in corrective action could result in product contamination and significant commercial loss.