Maintaining a flawlessly sanitary food facility is even more important to the viability of any food processing plant due to the recent establishment of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, Considered the most comprehensive reform of food safety regulations in nearly 70 years, the FSMA. is unique because it focuses on the prevention of contamination in food manufacturing plants instead of how to respond to an existing contamination. In addition, the FSMA gives unprecedented authority to the FDA to enforce these regulations as they deem applicable.

How a Pest Infestation Bankrupted the Peanut Corporation of America

According to Food Safety Magazine, food facilities lacking satisfactory Standard Operating Procedures suffer primarily from infestations of rodents, beetles, cockroaches, beetles, ants and flies. In 2009, the Peanut Corporation of America suffered bankruptcy and eventual liquidation of all assets when peanut butter infected with Salmonella was shipped out and distributed to various stores. A primary cause of salmonella is insect/rodent feces resulting from ineffective pest management practices. Drain-fly infestations can also cause a plethora of health hazards in the kitchen and require constant fly-drain treatments to prevent these issues from becoming health fiascos. See our earlier post on this issue.

Integrated Pest Management is Mandatory for Preventing Facility Contamination

All food facility managers should integrate IPM methods into their SOPs to avoid non-compliance with strict FSMA regulations and possible consequences similar to the fallout experienced by the PCA. Integrated pest management is practiced by Assured Environments to ensure sanitation conditions in food distribution and preparation facilities, as well as healthcare, educational, retail and hospitality buildings, meet or exceed FSMA standards. A managed IPM plan requires pest management technicians inspect, identify and treat pest infestations using in-depth information about pest life cycles, reproductive behaviors and interactions with specific physical conditions.

Read the complete text of the Food Safety Modernization Act here to understand how crucial it is to the success of a food processing facility to engage in Integrated Pest Management best practices. Contact Assured Environments today to prevent product contamination, possible recalls and harsh FDA for noncompliance to the Food Safety Modernization Act.