GFSI AND PEST CONTROL

GFSI AND PEST CONTROL

By Steve Sayer

Currently, Steve Sayer is a workplace safety *consultant #accredited auditor to *OSHA, *EPA, *#GFSI, *USDA, *FDA, *Human Resources, *#and Humane Handling of feed birds and animals and is a technical writer for multiple industries, as well as a part-time maintenance worker for California State Beaches.

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The Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000, British Retail Consortium, (BRC) and Safe Quality Foods, (SQF) codes have nearly identical pest control requirements.

Regardless if your company is or isn't working towards GFSI certification, or if your company is already GFSI certified, you know that pest control can't be left on the back- burner. More attention to the expansive world of pest control by assigned and trained plant employees needs to be addressed to meet the food safety, food quality and legality of your operations.

There is one common GFSI goal among all processing plants when it comes to pest control. That is, regardless if the pests are vertebrates, invertebrates, exoskeleton bugs, reptiles or mammals, there is a zero tolerance for pests to pace or perform aerial dives inside coolers and dry storage areas; including direct or in-direct exposure to products, product contact surfaces and packaging materials.

The CDC has shown that food contamination can occur anywhere or anytime along the farm-to-table continuum. While various forms of enteric pathogens have been verified as the culprit, studies have shown that the very same pathogens detected in products caused by feces can also be found on common everyday pests.

It’s doubtful that the average person is cognizant that behind the colorful fa?ades of feral birds is the virulent E. coli O157:H7 pathogen contained in their droppings; or that the malicious negative phototropism cockroach can spread pathogenic microorganisms such as coliforms, Salmonella, Clostridium and Streptococcus. Even the harmless looking housefly is capable of wreaking havoc by bringing Typhoid, Dysentery and Staphylococcal infections to exposed kitchen counters, utensils and the foods themselves.

Unlike the microscopic bacteria, which need to be incubated over a set time to become detectable, pests should be viewed as being visible-to-the-naked-eye enteric vectors who can bring silent havoc to the food safety, food quality and legality of your excellent conditioned products.

The fight against marauding pests can be a plant’s “Sisyphean Boulder" if not monitored, checked and verified. All food plants typically create a kaleidoscope of pest attractants such as heat, moisture, light, shelter, various olfactory perceptions, and victual oddments every day of the year.

Obviously each individual food processing’s inherent biota environment and geographic area holds unique eclectic pest problems that must be addressed on a quotidian basis. Quarterly tests should be conducted and documented by your hired pest company so everyone will be cognizant where the hot spots are; whether it be summer, fall, winter or spring.

To successfully win the ceaseless battles against pests, some prudent GFSI companies have developed customized internal pest control management programs that supplements their state licensed professional pest control company.

A processing plant’s internal pest control management program can simply be a daily or weekly supplemental checklist involving both the interior and exterior areas of the processing plant that works in union with the hired pest control company’s plan. Such a program would evince continuous improvement of GFSI codes.

Daily in-house preventive measures that are performed, documented and verified by plant personnel will help to ensure pest control order is being achieved while contemporaneously precluding possible cross-contamination, non-compliance records, (from those other pests that don federal badges) including call-back monies involving your hired pest control company.

By plagiarizing copies of your pest control company’s bait and tin-can placement maps, the daily monitoring of both interior and exterior areas of your facility by a responsible and trained plant employee can be accomplished and documented. Under no circumstances should plant employees ever touch or apply pesticides or poisons. Leave that to your professional PCO.

Pests are survivors. Entomologists have abundant evidence that many of the same pests that ambulate or fly around your food plant today had similar ancestors since before the Dinosaurs roamed the world. They've survived several ice ages and collectively survived Noah's flood and the Yucatan peninsula meteor of some 65 million years ago.

They'll more than likely survive man too. So don't feel too bad the next time your resident USDA Inspector cites you for a NR because of a fly doing envious aerial somersaults inside your cooler. Those persistent pests just may be in cahoots with your FSIS inspector and their just as impossible Zero Tolerance Standard for fecal, ingesta and milk matter.

12/19/2012 Meatingplace.com