Food Safety Doesn’ t Stop at the Production Line. What About the Door?
EDITOR’ S CHOICE PREVENTING INSECT INGRESS
CPA ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS
Food Safety Doesn’ t Stop at the Production Line. What About the Door?
For food manufacturers, maintaining effective contamination controls is essential to protecting product integrity, meeting food safety standards and safeguarding customer confidence. But while considerable attention is given to what happens within the production environment, could frequently opened industrial entrances present an opportunity to strengthen preventative measures?
Industrial entrances are essential to the daily operation of food manufacturing facilities. Raw materials must arrive, finished products must leave, and personnel and equipment need to move efficiently throughout a manufacturing facility. In many environments, this means large doorways opening repeatedly during the working day, creating opportunities for flying insects to enter.
For manufacturers operating to recognised food safety standards, identifying and managing potential contamination risks is an ongoing responsibility. But even where established controls are effective, could more be done to prevent insects entering the facility in the first place?
Are we controlling the problem or preventing it?
Electric Fly Killers( EFKs), monitoring systems and periodic treatments play an important role in managing insect activity within food manufacturing facilities. However, many of these measures address insects after they have entered the building.
For manufacturers operating to recognised food safety standards, identifying and managing potential contamination risks is an ongoing responsibility.
For one UK food manufacturer, reducing insect ingress became part of an ongoing programme of continuous improvement.
The facility had a large, frequently used entrance fitted with a rapid opening PVC door. Due to the nature of the product being manufactured, flying insects were naturally attracted to the premises.
Existing EFKs and periodic fogging were successfully maintaining insect numbers within acceptable limits. However, these measures primarily addressed insects after they had entered the building. The manufacturer therefore recognised an opportunity to strengthen its approach by reducing insect ingress through one of its busiest doorways.
As the manufacturer’ s Operations Director explained:
“ Flying insect ingress, as with most food manufacturing facilities, has the potential to be a serious issue. We have successfully controlled insects with EFK and periodic fogging; however, these are insect control solutions after the insects have entered the building.”
Keeping the entrance closed for longer periods was not a practical option. Personnel and material handling equipment required regular access, so any additional protective measure had to operate alongside the existing door without restricting movement or disrupting normal operations.
8 PECM Issue 83