The potential impact on business from a food pest infestation can be wide-ranging, resulting in lost revenue, lost customers, claims for loss and penalties, and even prosecution if non-compliance of applicable laws is involved. Worse yet, pest infestation can easily lead to loss of trust from customers and consumers, undermining your organization’s hard-earned reputation.
There are numerous pests that prefer to make their homes inside storage containers, grain silos, and warehouses, costing businesses millions in lost revenue each year. They contaminate raw materials and finished products in various ways, including through feces, webs, and cast skins, causing costly damage and process disruption and delays. Stored product insects (SPIs) (beetles, moths, weevils, and mites) can infest foods such as flour, rice, dried fruit, nuts, barley, and more.
Consequences of Pest Infestations
In order to gain insight into the challenges and issues pest infestation can present in food manufacturing and other industries, Rentokil commissioned independent research agency Opinion Matters and the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR). This research found that in 2014 alone, disruptions caused by pest infestations resulted in $9.6 billion in operating costs in the countries surveyed. Moreover, 84 percent of U.S. businesses reported a net impact on revenue due to pest infestation across a five-year period. Statistics like these demonstrate the serious impact pest infestations can have on businesses of all kinds.
However, the potential impact was not limited to financial loss alone, particularly for food-related businesses. The CEBR research found that food manufacturers and processors reported pest-related costs associated with contamination of raw materials leading to replacement costs (28 percent) and an erosion of staff morale (30 percent). If the pest problem is not discovered in finished goods until arrival at the customer’s location, negative impacts such as penalties, lost revenue, and reputation will be at their highest. Even before that point, if pests are discovered during production, there can be a loss of productivity due to machine downtime, which can lead to missed fulfillment dates, potential contract losses, and financial penalties. The CEBR research cited that 41 percent of non-public facing core-food firms experienced business disruption from infestations that lasted the same amount of time as the infestation itself.
Best Practices
Common signs of SPIs include:
- Live or dead insects in stored products, larvae, pupae, or silken webbing on food storage bins on shelves;
- Larvae or webbing on the outside of packets or bags;
- Larvae, pupae, or silken webbing in food harborages in cracks and crevices around shelves or on machinery, in food spillages, or on beams or windowsills; and
- Indications of the pests in insect traps or rodent stations.
Denying access to your premises is the first line of defense against stored food pests. This means inspecting incoming products, high standards of hygiene, and sanitation need to be maintained at all times throughout the year particularly in the warmer months when the temperature can expedite the development of SPI infestations.
Recommended prevention includes the following practices.
Temperature control. Stored product beetles and moths development time can be affected by temperature. Temperature above 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit or below 77 degrees Fahrenheit will slow population growth. Egg and pupa are less affected by relative humidity than larval stage. Development time for egg and pupa is affected by relative humidity as low as 8 to 12 percent.
High hygiene standards. Keeping a facility clean is essential to pest prevention. All excess food materials from spillages should be promptly cleaned as well as dust accumulation on facility surfaces, machinery, equipment, storage locations, and transport vehicles. All stock and food materials should be stored off the floor and away from the walls to facilitate cleaning and inspections. Add these areas to your Master Sanitation Schedule.
Appropriate packaging for raw materials and finished goods. Sufficiently robust and airtight packaging will help prevent infestation in food manufacturing facilities, during transportation, and at customer locations.
Tight fitting insect screens and screen doors. The insect screens should receive regular inspection and maintenance to ensure proper protection.
Waste management. It is important to have a policy in place that all waste should be placed in sealed bags. Waste containers should be thoroughly cleaned before every delivery and kept closed except when waste is being added. External drains, sumps, and pits should also be cleaned regularly as these areas offer potential harborage for pests.
Inspection of incoming raw materials. Stored insect pest infestations in a facility can be confined to a small area such as a bag or pallet of raw material. If undetected, the infestation can disperse rapidly throughout the premises. For this reason, it’s essential to be vigilant in inspection and monitoring. Incoming stock should be inspected for any evidence of live pest activity away from the main storage area. If found the shipment should be rejected immediately and returned to the supplier.
Benefits of a Proactive Approach
The application of practical and scientific experience to provide a tailored solution for a particular environment is the first step in proactively minimizing the risk of pest infestation and protecting a food manufacturing business from SPIs. The best approach considers all available preventative and curative options. While pesticides are an important and necessary part of a proactive approach, the goal of an SPI control program is to reduce the amount of pesticides used, which is a better method all the way around for a food manufacturing facility.
A proactive plan can involve a number of techniques, including the following.
Pheromone program. Stored product insects can be monitored using the appropriate lures. When captured species reach specified count levels in the traps, specialized treatment procedures should be initiated.
Light traps. Commercial traps with UV light will occasionally trap SPIs. Activity can be recorded to monitor and ensure early detection of any pests.
Dusting. Certain dusts can be employed with pesticides to control moisture, inhibiting pest harborage.
Precision spraying. Targeted spot crack and crevice treatments can be useful to eradicate localized SPIs in a structural environment. Success is dependent on adequate access and cleaning of loose or impacted residues and the use of approved materials that prevent product contamination.
ULV program. An ultra low volume, or ULV, program can be used to knock down the adult population and find potential harborage/breeding sites.
High Temperature. In some situations where a fumigant cannot be used, infested fresh commodities such as nuts, dried fruits, and grains can be heat treated using trailers, sea containers, or heat pods. All stages of insects are eradicated by heating the material for most products one to four hours at 120 degree Fahrenheit.
Grain protectants. Prevention and control of stored product insects must be considered from harvest to storage and processing. Grain protectants involve the application of insecticidal dusts and sprays directly to grain while in storage in silos on farms or at mills or during transportation. Because most grains are used for human consumption, there are strict guidelines that control the use of grain protectants. Proper application is based on the natural decay of the pesticide residues to low levels during the storage or transportation of the grain so that it can later be processed into edible foods.
Exterior protection. Where exterior infestations have been identified, it may be necessary to apply an approved insecticide treatment to pest activity sites outside buildings and storage facilities. These treatments can reduce the risk of SPI infestation.
Management and Recordkeeping
The negative consequences of pest infestation is exacerbated for food manufacturing and processing operations because they are typically subject to stringent audits by customers, corporate head offices, as well as independent industry auditing bodies. When auditing is required, up-to-date and easily accessible records are essential in demonstrating that pest control is managed effectively. This is one reason many businesses subject to auditing requirements choose to partner with a professional pest control supplier who can devote full attention to managing and documenting a proactive plan to control pests and provide online reporting tools, freeing the organization to focus on its core activities.
As the CEBR research results demonstrate, pest control is always a concern for food producers. It’s a task that requires knowledge and expertise to comply with national and local regulations and the requirements of third-party auditors. Additionally, maintaining the cleanliness and safety of food products is vital to brand reputation, which makes ensuring a meticulously kept facility of critical importance. An investment in a proactive SPI management plan is the first step toward ensuring the safety and quality of food products being delivered to consumers.
Dr. Pachamuthu is technical services manager for Rentokil Pest Control North America—of which. J.C. Ehrlich Pest Control, Western Exterminator, and Presto-X Pest Control are part of Rentokil companies in North America. Reach him at [email protected].
ACCESS THE FULL VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE
To view this article and gain unlimited access to premium content on the FQ&S website, register for your FREE account. Build your profile and create a personalized experience today! Sign up is easy!
GET STARTED
Already have an account? LOGIN