PEST CONTROL Good Operating Practi􀁆es for the food industry Pests inside your building can create issues in a number of ways; i) The pests themselves, or their droppings, feathers or body parts could get into the product and cause contamination. ii) Pests carry pathogens and if they touch your equipment, materials or people the pathogens could transfer to your products and make them unsafe to eat.

1. PEST CONTROL
HERE'S WHAT TO DO.
Design and manage the areas directly
surrounding your building so pests are not
encouraged to live close by.
Good Operating Practi es for the food industry
HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULD DO THIS.
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HERE'S HOW YOU COULD DO THIS.
If the pests don't live close by there's less chance they'll enter your facility. Make sure all areas close to buildings are paved or made of materials
that pests do not want live in, e.g. not plants/soil.
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Arrange for rubbish bins stored outside to be emptied regularly so they
are not an attractant to pests.
Use external rubbish bins that are enclosed so it's harder for pests to
access them.
Do not feed any stray animals (e.g. cats, dogs and birds) found in the
vicinity of the building.
Locate your building away from other businesses/buildings that
may attract pest or have poor pest management.
Ensure the facility is not close to water sources (e.g. streams and lakes)
that may attract pests.
Design and manage your facility to limit the Pests inside your building can create issues in a number of ways;
chance pests (insects, rodents, birds) can
i) The pests themselves, or their droppings, feathers or body parts could
get in.
get into the product and cause contamination.
ii) Pests carry pathogens and if they touch your equipment, materials or
people the pathogens could transfer to your products and make them
unsafe to eat.
Stop water taps on the outside of your building from dripping to take
away a potential source of drinking water for pests.
Block any holes in the outside of your buildings that allow access for
pests.
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Cement, mortar, hard filler and fine gauge wire mesh are the best
examples of materials that should be used to seal gaps.
Make sure you check for holes around wires and cables coming in,
especially areas within ceiling cavities.
Fit metal kick plates (to stop rodents eating through) and/or brushes to
the bottom of doors.
Keep doors to the outside closed as much as possible.
Install plastic strip curtains across doorways that may remain open - this
will discourage birds from flying in.
Install air curtains across open doorways.
Use a double door system so one door is always closed.
Use self closing doors so they can be left open.
Install mesh screens on windows that remain open (e.g. in toilets).
Install screens over drains and guttering to stop swimming rodents
gaining access to the building.
Make sure toilets have a water seal to stop rodents entering.
Make it less likely pests will want to live
inside your building.
If you remove the things pest like they won't stay in your buidling.
Remove any water sources (e.g. dripping taps, overflows trays from
fridges) to eliminate drinking water for pests.
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For birds use anti-perching wires, repellent gels, and acoustic or visual
scarers.
Arrange for rubbish bins to be emptied regularly so they area not an
attractant to pests.
Don't let dirty or unused materials build up as they could create an area
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for pests to live.
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2. PEST CONTROL
HERE'S WHAT TO DO.
Clean up spills of food items.
Good Operating Practi es for the food industry
HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULD DO THIS.
Spilled food items will attract pests as the spilled material is easier to
access than packaged food items.
The spilled food item could transferred around the building on shoes or
wheels and this will cause pests to be attracted to other areas.
Store all food items in sealed containers.
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Clean up any spills of food items as soon as they happen.
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For dry materials use a small brush and shovel and transfer the material
directly into a rubbish bin.
For wet materials push the spilled food item towards a floor drain using
a broom/squeegee. If there are no floor drains use paper towels to soak
up the spill and put the towels directly into a rubbish bin. Follow up
using a mop and bucket.
Pests are attracted to food items so by covering them you make them less If food items are in packs that are open or damaged either seal the
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pack or transfer the whole thing to a large plastic bin with a lid.
attractive to pesto .
You could put the complete pack inside the container or decant from the
original pack into a clean container with a sealing lid.
In storage areas leave a gap of 10cm
between all items and walls.
Pests will always hide in dark covered areas so if you reduce the chance Store all packs of food items off the floor and at least 10cm away from
they can do this they won't want to be around your building.
walls.
Clean storage areas regularly.
This also makes it easier for you to check for pest activity.
Pests eat dust, dirt and food items they find lying around so by removing
these you make it a less attractive place to live.
Set up pallet racking so it is not butted against walls.
Clean dry areas daily using a vacuum cleaner (with a sealed bag so it
does spread dust).
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Make sure you regularly move all the pallets in and clean underneath.
Have one person specifically responsible
for your pest control programme
By having one person accountable for ensuring your pest control
programme is working there is less chance it will be forgotten and pests
become an issue in your facility.
To give confidence they are doing a good job of protecting your product.
Ensure external contractors utilised to
perform pest control activities provide initial,
set up contract paperwork and then
To protect the health and safety of your staff.
ongoing service records.
Either contract an external service provider to manage your pest control 2.00
programme or assign the task to a manager within the business.
The requirements could include;
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1) al service contract describing services to be undertaken
2) details of chemicals to be used including Material Safety Data Sheets
(MSDS)
3) details of methods to be used
4) records of for each visit showing chemicals applied, target organism,
amount applied, area applied, method of application, rate of application, date and time
treated, and applicators signature.
5) current copies of the liability insurance certificate and
license showing the applicator is been monitored by a 3rd party
organisation.
Have procedures for handling and using
pest control chemicals.
If you have written procedures it will be easier for the person carrying out Create procedures explaining such things as;
1) how traps should be checked for insect activity
the task to do it correctly.
2) how to add fresh bait to traps
3) how to clean/empty equipment used to electrocute flying insects.
N.B. This applies if pest control is managed
4) how to operate equipment use to "fog" to kill stored insects
in-house (i.e. you don't use a contractor).
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Pest control procedures need to include information about how to safety
handle chemicals. This may include wearing gloves/masks and washing
hands afterwards.
Kill any pests present in your building.
By removing the pest you reduce the chance they will cause
contamination/hygiene issues for your products.
Shoots birds and remove them to the rubbish. (Be careful they don't fall 3.00
down into product areas.)
Lay chemical baits/traps to kill birds, rodents or insects. The baits
normally force the pest to seek a water source - which should be
outside.
Lay sticky boards with attractants included in the adhesive. When it
catches rodents or insect discard the whole board.
Install electric insect killers to kill any insects that fly into them.
Use pheromone traps.
Spray large areas with a fumigant to kill insects.
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3. PEST CONTROL
HERE'S WHAT TO DO.
Good Operating Practi es for the food industry
HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULD DO THIS.
www.hazardhub.com
HERE'S HOW YOU COULD DO THIS.
Manage electric insect killers properly.
Electric insects killers are designed to attract and then kills flying insects Place electric insect killers at least 3 metres away from exposed food
but if they are not managed correctly they can cause contamination of your so any dead insect remnants created do not fall onto food.
product.
Clean the catch tray regularly and change the bulbs as often as
suggested in manufacturers instructions.
Use only approved pest control chemicals. Approved pest control chemicals are able to be safely used in food
When buying the chemical, ask for an Material Safety Data Sheet
(MSDS) for that chemical.
manufacturing and handling premises.
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Check the list of approved chemicals on the website for the authority
responsible for managing food safety in your area.
Avoid using poison bait stations inside food Cross contamination from bait is a risk to the food being manufactured.
processing rooms.
Ensure rodent bait stations are in the
correct place and secure.
Bait stations need to be in placed near where the rodents will be, i.e.
close to walls.
If they are secure they will not be opened or moved accidentally.
Bait exposed to the weather will lose it's effectiveness.
"Refresh" baits used to attract pest.
Securing the station will also limit tampering by people.
If the baits get too old they lose their ability to attract the pest so they
won't be effective.
If you have a pest control agent / contractor, make sure they have
MSDS's for all chemicals they use.
Discuss your pest control needs with a specialist who will advise on the 3.20
best solutions for your particular pest hazards.
Bait stations should be spaced about 20 metres apart.
Use tamper-evident bait stations.
Lock the bait stations with a padlock that only authorised people can
open. Don't use ties that can be cut or chewed through.
Attach the stations to the ground/floor using an adhesive.
Replace rodent rodenticide (i.e. poison baits) every 6 months.
Monitor and record pest activity at the time If you have an idea of how many pests are present in your facility you will Create a log book / sheet where all staff can record any evidence of
pests, e.g. sightings of live or dead pests, feathers, droppings, gnawed
it is noted.
know how effective your control systems are.
surfaces etc.
Record when pest control traps are
So you can review how often you have needed to add more bait. This is
Create a log sheet listing all the bait stations/traps.
replenished with chemicals and any activity an indication of how much pest activity you have.
Make a note (with the date) on the log sheet every time you check the
that has taken place since the last change.
If the baits are empty every time you check it will be an indication of lots of level of bait.
pest activity and you may need to try different pest control systems.
Record how much bait was used, e.g. 10%, 25%, 75% etc.
Before "fogging" is to take place cover
equipment than clean and sanitise
afterwards.
Fogging is a method where insecticide is sprayed into the air over large
areas in order to kill insects.
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Add an adhesive label (with the date on it) to the inside lid of the bait
station every time you check it.
When possible loosely cover all equipment and stored food products
with plastic sheeting. This means when the droplets descend they will
be caught on the plastic but will remain in the atmosphere. The plastic
can then be discarded.
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Clean, sanitise and inspect all equipment afterwards to remove pesticide residues.
Clean the area in general to remove dead insects.
Remove any pest nests found inside your
building.
If you remove the place the pests live they may leave the building and a
create a new home somewhere else.
Clean areas where pests are found.
Pests carry pathogens that could contaminate your food so by cleaning
areas where pests live you reduce the chance your food will be
contaminated.
Check steam pipe insulation for pests.
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Search for nests in corners of your building, including ceiling and roof
cavities. Remove carefully and place in rubbish bin. Wash hands
afterwards.
Include bottoms of walls in food processing and storage areas in
general cleaning schedules as this is where rodents move around the
room.
If an infestation or rodent nest is found and removed clean and sanitise
the area afterwards.
The insulation used around steam pipes is an attractive place for pests to Include rooms where steam pipes are located in regular inspections
live because it's dry and warm.
used to check for pest activity.
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