PEST CONTROL - 21.06.2018

Must you sign up to a pest control contract?

Keeping clean

It’s essential to prevent pests, i.e. rodents, insects and birds, from entering or infesting a food premises. This is mainly because pests are carriers of micro-organisms which can cause food poisoning. Rodents and insects are known to carry salmonella, and birds may spread campylobacter which is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK.

Flies can be a particular threat to good hygiene in a food environment as they can transfer contamination from dirty to clean areas. Other pests can bring in unwanted foreign bodies such as droppings, nesting materials, feathers, insect eggs and larvae. As well as the danger of contamination, pests can cause physical damage to food products and packaging, or even to equipment on your premises, e.g. chewing through electrical cables or pipework.

Taking control

It’s not a legal requirement to have a pest control contract, however food businesses are covered by Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 related to the hygiene of foodstuffs. This requires you to prevent animals and pests from causing contamination by taking “adequate measures” . There’s also a requirement to have written food safety arrangements and these should include the measures for preventing pest problems. Contracting with a specialist provider to help you with these arrangements gives added reassurance but it’s not a substitute for undertaking the basics.

Tip 1. The priority is to ensure that the construction of your building, and other aspects of its design and fit out, minimise the risk of pest ingress. Fly screens, for example, are a must for doors and windows, and there should be no holes in walls where pests can get in.

Tip 2. You must also have procedures in place for food hygiene, including checking deliveries before the goods are put into your stores. Ensure that your maintenance and cleaning regimes include external yards and bin areas, reducing the potential sources of food and nesting materials.

Tip 3. Someone in your business should carry out routine monitoring for signs of pests, e.g. a weekly thorough inspection. This is supplementary to daily walk-throughs and ongoing vigilance; it should be undertaken by a manager who knows what they’re looking for, e.g. droppings, chewed packaging, gnawed materials, dead flies and slug trails. Keep a record of your findings (see The next step ).

Tip 4. Train catering staff to report evidence of pests and sightings, as well as anything which may increase the risk. Note. This is a standard element of basic food hygiene training.

Tip 5. If there are signs of a pest infestation, action must be taken promptly to remove the source of the risk, or sufficiently reduce the hazard, e.g. block up holes, fit fly screens, put down bait. As many bait products are restricted to professional users, it might be more effective to bring in a pest control contractor if baiting is needed. In any case they will bring with them a wealth of knowledge and training you can make use of.

For a pest monitoring form, visit http://tipsandadvice-healthandsafety.co.uk/download (HS 16.20.06).