In any food handling premises, pests are diverse and a huge risk. Whether you own a restaurant, takeaway, cafe, hotel, factory or even supermarket you have a responsibility by law to put provisions in place for pest control.
Effective pest management programmes should be put in to prevent and reduce risks of pests within any food site. Here at DALPEST Pest Solutions, we understand this is a sensitive subject and treat and prevent with the utmost of confidentiality.
THE LAW
The regulatory framework (the Food Saftey Act 1990) and Food Hygiene Regulations 2005 deem food unsafe if it’s considered to cause damage or harm to humans after consumption.
The law lays down general hygiene requirements for all food businesses. Food premises permit you to practice good hygiene which includes protection against contamination and adequate pest control.
PROCEDURES
Your procedures should be based upon the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP. This documents the processes that are most hazardous, so you can put measures in place to reduce the risk. Pest management is included in the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
The main problems pest controllers face are:
Storage of Food: When raw produce arrives at the food premises, it should be inspected for evidence of infestation from the outset. Food should not be stored against a wall.
Pest Proofing: All food business should have a pest prevention system, and ideally a pre- prevention maintenance agreement to keep this ongoing, with quality standard paperwork. People automatically assume prevention is all about rodents, but the food industry is plagued by infestations of insects especially fly’s in the summer.
Food Waste: The importance of food disposal is imperative. You can eliminate a significant number of pest problems with general staff pest awareness and taking care of food waste.
To talk to your local pest controller today about prevention and proofing of your premises call DALPEST Pest Solutions on 0845 37 22 115.
