Sarah Southworth, Managing Director of Specialised Cleaning Services, tells Tomorrow’s Cleaning about the potential dangers posed by pests, and how to keep professional kitchens infestation free.
When considering the cleanliness and hygiene standards within a food establishment, it is crucial that a rigorous pest control strategy is factored in. Any area with a continual supply of food to attract unwanted visitors, needs to ensure that they have the right systems in place to deal with a potential pest infestation.
As a customer entering a restaurant or café, you want to sit down, relax and enjoy a delicious meal. You want to be secure in the knowledge that the food you are eating has been stored and prepared in a pest free environment. Pest control within food establishments has become even more crucial following the introduction of the ‘Scores on the Doors’ programme in 2010, launched by the Food Standards Agency, to ensure that food businesses abide
58 | FOOD HYGIENE
by food law. The fact that savvy consumers are using such ratings to determine where they dine out or purchase their food, makes effective pest control even more essential.
The most valuable asset of a hotel, restaurant or pub is its reputation. A strong reputation is generally built on the quality of food, customer service and the high standards of the surroundings, but all of this can be undone over night. An infestation can close down a restaurant and leave the reputation that has been built up over years in shreds. Cleanliness and hygiene standards need to be at the forefront of the mind for any business providing food to the general public.
Busy commercial kitchens have the potential to attract a wide variety of harmful pests; it may be a grim topic,
but it will be worse if ignored. Some of the main offenders we come across are:
Rats and mice: these rodents are capable of transmitting food poisoning bacteria like listeria and salmonella, either from direct contact with the food or by their fecal deposits, urine or contaminated bodies.
Flies: these cause a myriad of problems for humans. They transmit pathogens including food poisoning organisms; cereals, fl our and beans are just some of the foods most susceptible to an infestation.
Cockroaches: these constitute one of the most common pests in eating establishments, and can be the most dangerous. These unpleasant pests feed on faeces and then feed on human foods, transmitting
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