Acheta Consulting Ltd Providers of independent pest control inspection, audit and consultancy services
Food Industry Standards; Are they adversely impacting on effective rodent control? Presenter: Ian Adamson BSc (Hons) Technical Consultant at Acheta Consulting Ltd
Let s start with an easy question... How important is rodent control?
But how prevalent is it?
From the FSA website... 3 recalls in 2013 due to rodent infestation: Sweet factory Bakery Fruit and nut packing plant
a fair reflection of the extent of rodent infestation in food manufacturing premises? We didn t know of any statistics concerning the proportion of food sites that experience issues with rodent infestation... so we tried to gather some...
Using our own client base we reviewed rodent activity in 2013 and allocated each site to one of the four categories below: 1 - No internal rodent activity 2 Occasional / sporadic internal rodent activity 3 Regular / recurring internal rodent activity, due primarily to regular importation of rodents to site 4 Regular / recurring internal rodent activity, due primarily to infestation resident within the fabric of the building
Percentage Breakdown by Category : 180 sites 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 1 - No internal activity 2 - Occasional/ sporadic internal activity 3 - Regular/ recurring activity due to regular importation 4 - Regular/ recurring activity, due to infestation resident within the building
We also asked a couple of pest control contractors to do the same thing
A significant (probably somewhere between 10-20%) proportion of food manufacturing sites have a resident rodent population The control of these is obviously critical to food safety and company reputation We have a plentiful array of monitoring and control options available to us, don t we..?
In recent years we have lost: All of the rodenticide concentrates All of the rodenticide contact dusts All bar one of the rodenticide contact gels 1 of only 2 non-anticoagulant active ingredients
We are currently being forced to: Use tamper-resistant bait stations Move to non-toxic or trapping systems Secure these to the building structure Return every day or two to follow up on activity All of these can impact adversely on effective rodent control; the food industry standards are being written by those with little or no knowledge of pest control
Some of the major threats to food safety Potential Physical, Chemical Intelligent? Predictable? contaminant or Biological? Metal or glass P N Y
Some of the major threats to food safety Potential Physical, Chemical Intelligent? Predictable? contaminant or Biological? Metal or glass P N Y Allergens C N Y
Some of the major threats to food safety Potential Physical, Chemical Intelligent? Predictable? contaminant or Biological? Metal or glass P N Y Allergens C N Y Microbiological B N Y
Some of the major threats to food safety Potential Physical, Chemical Intelligent? Predictable? contaminant or Biological? Metal or glass P N Y Allergens C N Y Microbiological B N Y Insects B N Y
Some of the major threats to food safety Potential Physical, Chemical Intelligent? Predictable? contaminant or Biological? Metal or glass P N Y Allergens C N Y Microbiological B N Y Insects B N Y Rodents B Y N Rodents are probably THE most unpredictable threat to food safety
A remote monitoring system Detects rodent movement using PIR (heat/ movement) detectors Each activation is recorded and triggers an email alert We have used the system as part of trouble-shooting work at several sites We decided to test it against conventional baits and traps...
The Scenario A retailer distribution centre (of just under 1m sq feet) Established long-standing mouse presence We selected 25 locations, some of which had no evidence for mice, and some where evidence was plentiful
At each location we sited: A GTO detector, on upturned guttering, with non-toxic bait and UV tracking dust underneath A plastic bait station with non-toxic bait A cardboard bait station with non-toxic bait A plastic trapping station containing a break-back trap baited with a commercial rodent attractant
The trial ran for two weeks but after one week we changed the bait type to see if it made any difference to the results. It didn t. The results after the second week...
Activations were recorded by 9 of the 25 GTO detectors. These varied from a single activation to 105 at location 25! At every such location evidence of mice moving through tracking dust supported the activation; no false positives No rodent movement was observed through tracking dust at locations where no activations were recorded; no false negatives
What about the baits and traps? On the bait under the GTO guttering we found 1 full and 1 part take In the plastic bait stations we had no takes and evidence for mouse entry (UV footprints) in only 1 station In the cardboard bait stations we had 1 part take and evidence for mouse entry within only this 1 box Within the trapping boxes we had no catches, and tracking was observed only within a box where the trap had been accidentally activated!!!
But I m afraid that the news gets worse...
.all is not lost though, there was actually one mouse that we found caught in a break-back trap... - Peanut butter bait - Trap placed directly in the mouse run, with no housing
What does this information suggest? - Bait boxes.. - Housed traps.. - Bait attractiveness...perhaps more research is required?
Coming back to the unpredictability of trying to control rodents... Potential Physical, Chemical Intelligent? Predictable? contaminant or Biological? Metal or glass P N Y Allergens C N Y Microbiological B N Y Insects B N Y Rodents B Y N This unpredictability has been recognised by the organisation which represents those responsible for policing food safety: CIEH publication Pest control procedures in the food industry
2.4 Pest management standards in the food industry Food safety audits may be carried out by auditors from within the company or from an independent organisation. The audit is generally based on a series of criteria set out to ensure the highest standard of compliance with a specific aspect of food safety. The section which deals with pest management will usually require zero infestation and conformity with criteria covering type of pest management programme; permitted materials and techniques and record keeping. Care is essential when setting criteria to ensure that they achieve the required result. Over prescriptive criteria may place unnecessary restrictions on the pest management programme, extending the period before control is achieved.
The concept of risk assessment is further embodied in many of the food industry s standards and codes of practice, for example: BRC Issue 6 The frequency of inspections shall be determined by risk assessment TFMS The pest control programme must be based on risk assessment. The risk assessment must consider the location, products produced, type of materials handled and pest control methods to be employed. ASDA The frequency of inspections shall be determined by risk assessment and shall be fully documented
Although pest risk assessments are required, does the prescriptive nature of some codes of practice override the findings of an honest risk assessment?
Lets return to the original question: Food Industry Standards; Are they adversely impacting on effective rodent control?
Which poses the greater risk: An active infestation of rodents in the building fabric of a food manufacturing plant Or The calculated activities of a competent pest control professional operating within the law.?
CIEH publication Pest control procedures in the food industry Over prescriptive criteria may place unnecessary restrictions on the pest management programme, extending the period before control is achieved.