A food business has to ensure food safety by law. They are responsible for making sure the products and materials used in preparing the food are safe. Plus, food businesses have to ensure the products and processes they use to prepare the foods are also hygienic.
A food processor must not only produce safe products, but also demonstrate to relevant authorities how their processes, procedures, and facilities ensure food safety and are compliant with the relevant legislation by managing, monitoring, and documenting their activities.
Pest control is a prerequisite for all businesses in the food industry. As a result of the successes in pest control, businesses should also reduce food waste that often leads to contaminations. Businesses in food industry must be concerned with preventing insect infestations and contamination along the whole food supply.
Food establishments are often prime habitats for pests as they get nourishment from the waste that accumulates in and around them.
Pest control is essential for the safety of our health. When pests are not controlled, they can cause infestations and health problems for consumers. Besides possible health problems, insect infestation will inevitably lead to an enormous amount of waste and financial losses.
Likewise, pest infestations can cause significant losses for businesses when they damage food products and raw materials.
Food-producing facilities and factories need to hire monitoring specialists to ensure that proper safety protocols of pest control are ensured.
These monitoring specialists are professionals with degrees in nutrition, industrial food manufacturing, or public health and safety. Becoming a public health specialist is now easier than ever as courses in the field are now taught online, i.e., the online masters in public health, which will equip you with the right knowledge to become a professional monitoring specialist.
For food manufacturers and restaurants, food safety is paramount throughout the production process and can be ensured by implementing appropriate measures.
There are established manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures when it comes to ensuring pest control.
Some of the most common ones are:
Determine the Pests and their Habitat
Even if you haven’t directly seen the pest infesting your food, each one leaves its own identifying marks, like their modus operandi, which indicates towards the pest’s existence.
Any excrement or pest contaminations found in food production plant indicates an infestation. On the contrary, if you spot a cockroach during the day, the real scale of the infestation is probably way above you see in front of you.
Mice and cockroaches are nocturnal and require pest control action that is in line with how they behave.
Pests need safety, refuge, food, and water in order to survive and multiply. Therefore, you must take into account the circumstances that enable pests to endure and proliferate.
If you do not completely understand the factors that are enabling the pests to persists, your business will suffer the losses and might even have to close down for disinfestation or, worse, a customer might report your business to the authorities after their encounter with the pest that you have been unable to control.
Routine checks by the pest control team should be a component of your pest management strategy. Take the staff into confidence and tell them to call the management immediately after seeing any pests and take necessary measures to eliminate it.
Make a Strategy to Remove Pests
Even though most small manufacturers may choose a reliable and professional service, large enterprises may have a pest management officer onsite. The fact that this is a recurring problem makes it crucial to call in the experts.
You need to keep a vigilant check and, depending on the type of pests you are dealing with, you need a mix of many pest control strategies to curb the infestation.
Unless you have received any specific trainings that apply pesticide eradication in your factory or workplace, avoid winging it on your own.
You can also make certain changes to the establishment or layout to make it less inviting for the pests. For example, to stop birds from building nests in the roof of your building, think about putting rubberized roofing as well as cables, traps, or needle strips.
Rodents cannot run across or burrow into your building if there are sand holes and stripes all around it. Compared to conventional mercury lighting, outdoor sodium vapor lighting does not draw as many insects.
Take the Necessary Course of Action
Regular inspections will help you identify any flaws in your pest management program. Take the required preventive measures before the pest problem gets out of hand.
Regular maintenance inspections are exemplary preventive measures. Experts are able to seal off any potential access points and render the entire building pest-proof.
Selection of Treatment for Pest Control
Integrated pest management (IPM) places a strong emphasis on using non-chemical control strategies before using chemical ones, such as isolation or capturing.
However, chemicals in the least volatile compositions may be employed in selected regions to treat the particular pests when other control approaches have failed or are ineffective for the situation.
In other words, only apply the necessary amount of the proper therapies where they are needed to complete the job.
In such a case, if you choose to prioritize non-chemical alternatives, you should ensure that your pest management program eliminates pests with minimal environmental risk.
Final Words
A food manufacturers success and profit depend directly on how they ensure compliance with food safety and hygiene protocols. Therefore, a primary goal of integrated pest management (IPM) is to prevent pests from entering and infesting the food supply. Following the strategies mentioned above, you can easily eliminate pest invasions and effectively control the pests, so your food business can continue to serve customers untainted.
