Pest Control Food Safety

Pest management is a critical part of food safety because pests can contaminate foods with pathogenic microorganisms and make people sick. Most pest problems can be controlled with proper cleaning and other preventative strategies, but some pest problems require exterminators.

Concerns

• The types of pests that cause the most concern for food safety include flies, cockroaches and rodents. Within these groups, subgroups such as the house fly, fruit fly and blow fly all contaminate food and are attracted to trash and the smell of decay.

Identification

• It is easy to identify the presence of pests in your facility. Flies often travel around looking for food sources. Cockroaches only come out when its dark so you might have a large infestation if you see one in the daytime. Rodents can leave gnaw marks, droppings and rub marks on floors and walls.

Prevention/Solution

• The best way to ensure that pests do not threaten food in your kitchen is to attack them from several angles. You need to prevent the pests from getting in by sealing cracks and holes in your walls and floors, storing foods in air-tight containers, keeping the area clean and hiring a licensed pest control exterminator when pests thrive.

History

• The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 gave powers to the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate pesticide use. Among the notable points: a single, health-based standard for all pesticides in all foods is required; special protections must be made for infants and children; and approval for safer pesticides must be expedited. These rules govern current approaches to pest extermination.

Resources

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers interactive tools for food safety education and the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals provides steps to becoming a certified food safety manager, including sample test material on topics such as pest management.