Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
guages if some of the workers handling the chemicals speak and read languages other
than English.
Pest Control
A good pest control program rounds out the foundation for an effective sanitation
program in any food-processing facility. Preventing bacterial, insect, rodent, and other
pest infestation is easier with a comprehensive approach. First, removing food and
water sources can make the plant environment unwelcome to unwanted pests. In
executing the sanitation program, it is important to make sure that the following are
part of the everyday sanitation process:
All food product debris is cleaned up and removed from the worksite promptly.
Standing water is removed.
Drains are properly cleaned and sanitized.
Storage areas are inspected and cleaned.
Garbage containers and waste storage areas are constantly monitored and cleaned.
Second, for pests and insects, a “catch and remove” approach is also needed
because some of these pests may enter the building through holes, trucks, drains, doors
and windows, boxes, totes, bins, or pallets. Traps are ideal for this phase of the
program, but no pesticides should be used inside the building where food is produced.
Mechanical traps or glue boards work for larger rodent pests. Glue boards and insect
trap lights work well for the smaller pests. Regularly check for entry points such as
cracks in the walls or door seals, open windows, and torn screens and correct them
immediately.
It takes a comprehensive approach to control unwanted pests in a food-processing
environment. Most processors have found it works best to hire an outside pest control
company that demonstrates an understanding of the unique needs of the food industry
and follows updates to acceptable pest control standards for food-manufacturing
facilities.
Monitoring
When all of these food safety and sanitation programs are written and implemented,
one more step is required to round out the overall program: monitoring and verifi ca-
tion. In order to understand each part of this important step, it is easier to look at it
in two parts. Monitoring comes before verifi cation and must be implemented when
the different parts of the food safety plan are established. Monitoring may be con-
ducted by workers that record data at different checkpoints at different times, or by
mechanical equipment that records or reports signals on electronic screens, paper
records, or graph charts. Most of this information is analyzed or stored for reference
in case of problems. Paper or electronic records are important for management to
check to make sure equipment and systems are working properly. It is important to
cover as many processing steps as possible during production to provide a record of
what occurred and when.
