GARBAGE AREAS
Receiving dock and garbage areas are a common entry point for pests. Pests can ride along with incoming goods, and rodents, birds and other pests can sneak in when doors are left open for long periods. Once inside, these pests can damage both raw materials and finished goods, as well as present serious food safety and public health risks.
The Solution:
Make sure staff is trained to inspect incoming goods for signs of pest activity or spoilage. Minimize time with doors open, and regularly inspect the building exterior to secure and fill holes and gaps around doors. Keep garbage areas clean, prevent ground litter and keep containers closed, and frequently remove from property.
Both raw material storage and finished good storage areas present large, attractive caches of food for pests. Stored Product Pests can hitchhike in with incoming raw materials, not only damaging those materials, but potentially infesting your entire facility, leading to shutdowns and further product losses. Rodents can easily find their way through gaps and holes and quickly damage materials.
The Solution:
Implement best-practice sanitation techniques and monitor incoming goods and pest activity within your raw materials & finished goods storage area. Make sure all doors within the facility are closed whenever possible, inspect for gaps and holes on both exterior and interior walls, and stay on top of proper cleaning protocols.
Breeding Area
Regularly scheduled preventive maintenance and cleaning of production equipment is critical for food safety. This equipment and areas around it – such as floor drains – can easily become dirty or worn, creating an ideal environment for small flies and other pests to live and breed. Exponential breeding can quickly turn a small problem into an infestation that threatens food safety and can damage goods on production lines.
The Solution:
Regularly clean out and sanitize production equipment and floor drains by following proper protocols and using proper chemicals to prevent a food safety incident or infestation from taking hold.
Stored Product Pests can hitchhike into on-site grain silos, where their population can expand and cause significant damage and loss of raw materials — and ultimately contaminate the entire product flow.
The Solution:
Fumigation, done by highly trained experts, can effectively eliminate Stored Product Pests from taking over on-site grain silos.
Staff can bring pests in with food and even on clothing. Unsanitary conditions can easily develop in any of these areas, both attracting pests and providing ideal breeding and feeding grounds. These pest issues can create food safety and public health risks for employees and can quickly spread to other areas of the facility.
The Solution:
Regularly monitor for pest activity. Follow cleaning, sanitation and food safety best practices to keep breakrooms, cafeterias and locker rooms clean. In particular, make sure garbage is regularly removed and both floor and sink drains are regularly cleaned out and sanitized.
ROOFTOP
HVAC units, conveyors, silos, and equipment exhaust systems on and around the roof of a facility present an attractive environment for nesting and other bird activity. Bird activity is a direct violation of FSMA standards, as these pests can bring diseases and other pathogens in contact with staff, equipment and product, posing significant food safety and public health risks.
The Solution:
Regularly inspect, identify and address pest problem areas. Create barriers, control sanitation and limit standing water around the exterior to prevent bird activity.
As quality control labs test incoming and outgoing product, conduct shelf-life testing and try new recipes, food and other products stored in the lab area for long periods of time can create a higher risk for infestation from pests. This can present potential food safety and compliance issues, can disrupt quality control testing, and can lead to issues which spread to other areas of the facility.
The Solution:
Keep all product tightly sealed and stored away, and make sure to cycle product in a timely manner. Follow cleaning, sanitation and food safety best practices, and implement proactive monitoring techniques.
The Risk: An Attractive
Food Source
Both raw material storage and finished good storage areas present large, attractive caches of food for pests. Stored Product Pests can hitchhike in with incoming raw materials, not only damaging those materials, but potentially infesting your entire facility, leading to shutdowns and further product losses. Rodents can easily find their way through gaps and holes and quickly damage materials.
The Solution:
Implement best-practice sanitation tech
niques and monitor incoming goods and pest activity within your raw materials & finished goods storage area. Make sure all doors within the facility are closed whenever possible, inspect for gaps and holes on both exterior and interior walls, and stay on top of proper cleaning protocols.
The Solution:
Make sure staff is trained to inspect incoming goods for signs of pest activity or spoilage. Minimize time with doors open, and regularly inspect the building exterior to secure and fill holes and gaps around doors. Keep garbage areas clean, prevent ground litter and keep containers closed, and frequently remove from property.
Breeding Area
Regularly scheduled preventive maintenance and cleaning of production equipment is critical for food safety. This equipment and areas around it – such as floor drains – can easily become dirty or worn, creating an ideal environment for small flies and other pests to live and breed. Exponential breeding can quickly turn a small problem into an infestation that threatens food safety and can damage goods on production lines.
The Solution:
Regularly clean out and sanitize production equipment and floor drains by following proper protocols and using proper chemicals to prevent a food safety incident or infestation from taking hold.
Stored Product Pests can hitchhike into on-site grain silos, where their population can expand and cause significant damage and loss of raw materials — and ultimately contaminate the entire product flow.
The Solution:
Fumigation, done by highly trained experts, can effectively eliminate Stored Product Pests from taking over on-site grain silos.
Staff can bring pests in with food and even on clothing. Unsanitary conditions can easily develop in any of these areas, both attracting pests and providing ideal breeding and feeding grounds. These pest issues can create food safety and public health risks for employees and can quickly spread to other areas of the facility.
The Solution:
Regularly monitor for pest activity. Follow cleaning, sanitation and food safety best practices to keep breakrooms, cafeterias and locker rooms clean. In particular, make sure garbage is regularly removed and both floor and sink drains are regularly cleaned out and sanitized.
ROOFTOP
Nesting Site
HVAC units, conveyors, silos, and equipment exhaust systems on and around the roof of a facility present an attractive environment for nesting and other bird activity. Bird activity is a direct violation of FSMA standards, as these pests can bring diseases and other pathogens in contact with staff, equipment and product, posing significant food safety and public health risks.
The Solution:
Regularly inspect, identify and address pest problem areas. Create barriers, control sanitation and limit standing water around the exterior to prevent bird activity.
As quality control labs test incoming and outgoing product, conduct shelf-life testing and try new recipes, food and other products stored in the lab area for long periods of time can create a higher risk for infestation from pests. This can present potential food safety and compliance issues, can disrupt quality control testing, and can lead to issues which spread to other areas of the facility.
The Solution:
Keep all product tightly sealed and stored away, and make sure to cycle product in a timely manner. Follow cleaning, sanitation and food safety best practices, and implement proactive monitoring techniques.