Safety and risk management

Learn about the industry standards of pest management and how to create effective pest management plans to prevent rodent, insect, and bird infestation in your food facility. 

PEST MANAGEMENT
PEST MANAGEMENT STANDARDS


WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In this lesson, we will learn about the standards of pest management according to ** Global Food Safety Standards.**
This standard provides information on how to create an effective and safe preventive pest control program.


We summarized the requirements into 12 important points.
Let’s see how well you know these standards.
Ready?


Why do we need pest management programmes?


If you choose to have pest management handled internally, you need to comply with these requirements:
Trained Pest Management Team
Certified training or Registration
Resources for Infestation Treatment
Access to an Expert
Compliance to Pest Control Regulations
Dedicated Chemical Storage facility


Requirements for Internal Pest Management


What are the responsibilities of the site manager?


Pest Management Standards

PEST MANAGEMENT
IDENTIFYING PEST ACTIVITY


WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In this lesson, we will learn...
How to identify infestations
How to report pest sightings


Gather information
Try to get as much information as you can about the pest. It's important to identify...
what type of pest it is,
when you first suspect infestation, and
-which areas may be affected


Gather evidence
Take pictures of what you observed. No need to get samples of droppings or insects as it is not be safe for you to do so.


Report to the designated manager
Inform your immediate supervisor or the designated manager for pest control.


Pest management companies should provide a record of their inspection and give recommendations to the facility manager.


These recommendations should be implemented by the manager and monitored if effective.


Identifying Pest Activity

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In this lesson, we will learn…
What is a risk assessment?
Why is it important in pest management?
How to conduct a risk assessment?


There’s no standard template.
You can use the Sample Risk Assessment document in your course briefcase as a reference for areas and items you need to inspect.
There will be observations that will not fall under these categories and there may be other areas unique to your facility.
Consider all these areas and record all significant findings.
Continue to the next slide to see common areas of a facility and examples of items you need to check.


How do we conduct a risk assessment?


KNOWLEDGE CHECK


Which among these items can attract pests?


Risk Assessment

Areas of rodent infestation
Check the places where there are reported sightings of rodents or their nesting.


Areas conducive to infestation
Places that are cluttered with trash or debris, and has standing water attract rodents.
Examples of these areas are:
Dumpsters
Underneath load levelers
Dock areas
Off-loading areas


Areas with food source
Places where food is stored or processed should be inspected. Uncleaned spillage and unsecured stored food when unchecked can lead to an infestation.


Entry points
Check open doors and gaps in the facility where rodents may enter.


Tall grass and vegetation
Check garden areas or any grassy part of the facility's exterior.


Areas without enough clearance or protection from rodent activity
Buildings with perimeter areas with less than 24" clearance and the grounds are not covered with gravel or other materials tend to encourage rodent burrowing.


Neighboring properties
Check the other properties or facilities nearby. If they are not maintained or possibly infested, the risk of your facility getting infested increases.


Try to find information on the following:
Previous rodent control efforts
What methods were done in the past to control rodents?
Trend Analysis
Is there an increase or decrease in rodent activity?
Pest Sighting Data
Which areas had rodent sightings or evidence of infestation?


CHECK THE HISTORY
Aside from a visual inspection, you should also check for records of rodent history.


Placement of Rodent Devices and Frequency of Inspection
After the site survey and history check, you now have to plan your rodent program and install rodent control devices.
These devices can be in the form of...
rodenticide bait stations
snap traps
glue boards
non-toxic monitoring stations


You need to decide...
Where to put the rodent devices and how many do you need; and
How often they should be inspected


Use your risk assessment as a basis.
The results of your risk assessment will determine the answers to the questions above. You can consult a pest control expert and they will analyze your records and give you recommendations for your rodent program.


Refer to the guidelines.
If your facility has less than 12 months of record, you can use the guidelines from NPMA to determine the spacing of devices and frequency of service.


If your risk assessment and site survey showed that there is a lot of pest activity and higher risk of rodent infestation, you should increase the number of rodent devices and consider inspecting more frequently.
The recommendations given previously are only guides.
Use them when you don't have enough information about rodent history.
Monitor your rodent program.
Regularly evaluate if your rodent program is effective. Your data should show a decrease in rodent activities. If not, adjust accordingly or employ a different strategy.


IMPORTANT NOTE!


What are the two things that you need to do before making a rodent management program?


Rodent Management

Safe sourcing of raw materials
As mentioned before, some insects may enter the facility through the raw materials that we source. Having a good supplier and following food standards help us mitigate the risk of infestation from products entering the facility.


Mechanical Alterations
Occasional invaders and flying insects can be managed by...
filtering incoming air
sealing cracks
repairing broken doors


Pheromones and pheromone traps
These are effective for monitor and manage stored product insects.


Fumigation / Use of pesticides
Pesticides can be used but they need to be appropriately labeled and used according to label instructions. They are often used as space treatments to reduce adult insect populations.


Traps
Insect Light Traps (ILTs) and other flying insect traps are used to both monitor and manage flying insects.
They can be used as long as they do not interfere with the operation and do not attract the insects to open food.


Insect Management

PEST MANAGEMENT
Birds and Other Wildlife


WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In this lesson, we will learn about…
Areas to survey for birds and wildlife activities
Preventive measures for bird and wildlife management
How to remove birds and other animals


There may be more than one correct answer.


Which among the options are good preventive measure for bird or wildlife infestation?


LEARN MORE
You can learn more about birds and wildlife management using e NPMA Pest Management Library or the NPMA Resources Center.
Visit npmapestworld.org for more information.


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