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In a perfect world, every food plant would have just one auditor and a sin-gle set of audit standards to follow, right? Imagine it—audit preparationwould be like studying for the same test over and over. The questionswould never change, and your score would get a little better every time. Of

course, in the real world, it’s not that simple, for a lot of good reasons. But hav-ing multiple auditors with slightly, or sometimes significantly, different re-quirements can be confusing and can make it harder to maintain the kinds ofaudit scores your customers would like.

The same challenges apply to pest management professionals who serviceaudited facilities. Given how important it is for our food processing and manu-facturing clients to meet stringent pest management protocols at audit, incon-

sistent requirements from one audi-tor to the next can complicate thingsconsiderably.

That’s why the National PestManagement Association (NPMA)compiled a universal set of pest man-agement standards for food plants in2007 and updated them recently.Drafted by a group of nationally rec-ognized professionals representingmost of the major food safety audi-tors—including AIB International,ASI, NSF-Cook & Thurber, Silliker,and Yum! Brands—the NPMA’sguidelines meet or exceed the pestmanagement requirements of all the

Many Auditors, One StandardUniversal guidelines help simplify pest control audit prepBY ZIA SIDDIQI , PHD, BCE, DIRECTOR OF QUALITY SYSTEMS, ORKIN, INC.

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major auditors. In short, the guide-lines take the guesswork out ofpreparing for the pest managementcomponent of your next audit, bothfor you and for your pest managementprovider.

Four Major Categories The universal standards cover fourmajor categories of the typical pestmanagement program in a foodplant. The first category is person-nel, which covers backgroundchecks, uniform and vehicle re-quirements, minimum trainingstandards, and so forth. This cate-gory has implications not only forfood safety but also food security.In this day and age, food securityconcerns are on the front burner forauditors.

Next are the pest managementprotocols themselves, which natu-rally form the core of the standards.The final two categories are commu-nications and recordkeeping, whichoutline the pest management docu-mentation required for audit. Thiswritten information plays a funda-mental role at audit time, because it isthe only way auditors have to criticallyevaluate pest management activityand performance over time.

Before highlighting specific pestmanagement guidelines in eachcategory, it’s worth noting that the NPMA’s complete Pest Manage-ment Standards for Food Plantsdocument is available online atwww.npmapestworld.com throughthe technical support tab on the left-hand side of the home page. In the meantime, this articlewill provide overviews of each category’s key recommendations.Review these guidelines with yourpest management provider to ensure you’re prepared for yournext audit.

Pest Management PersonnelMost food plants and food safety audi-tors have criteria for uniforms andother personal identification that out-side vendors must follow for the physi-

cal safety of the visiting technicianand the security of the food and food-related products on site. The NPMAaddresses the most common require-ments in their uniform guidelines toensure compliance across audits andfrom one plant to the next. Require-ments include:

• shoes with slip-resistant soles(steel-toed if required by the plant);

• socks;• long pants;• shirt with short or long sleeves,

with company logo or name; and• bump cap if required by the plant.

The universal standards also call forcriminal and motor vehicle back-ground checks for any newly hiredpest management employee whoservices a food plant. The backgroundcheck has to cover the five years imme-diately preceding the date of hire.Again, such requirements speak to the

ever-present issue of food security intoday’s environment.

Because requirements for other se-curity measures such as parking, visi-tor badges, substitute technicians,and personal escorts vary so muchfrom one facility to the next, NPMA’sguidelines simply recommend thatpest management professionals “un-derstand and comply” with all plantpolicies of this nature and that eachplant provide written copies of ap-proved procedures to every techni-cian who services the plant. In otherwords, NPMA leaves it to you to decideyour security policies but wants tomake sure your pest managementprovider understands them and re-spects them to the letter.

Clearly, food security is a top prior-ity for the auditors who developed theguidelines, but the NPMA recommen-dations also set a high bar for personalsafety training. They require that pestmanagement companies have a writ-ten safety plan and document trainingfor every employee who works in afood plant. This is no small order. Thefollowing is just a partial list of whatthese safety plans must include:

• respiratory protection training ifproducts requiring a respiratorare used;

• pesticide safety training, includingunderstanding of proper disposalof products and containers;

• emergency response proceduresin case of chemical spills;

• fall prevention guidelines;• ladder safety and transportation

guidelines;

SAFETY & SANITATION Pest Management

Beyond safety training,the universal standardsalso require food plant

technicians to becertified by the applicable

regulatory agency andhave proof of technical

training specific tofood plants, including

training in current goodmanufacturing practices.

Documentation plays afundamental role at audittime. It is the only wayauditors have to criticallyevaluate pest managementactivity and performanceover time.

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• warnings of potential crushinghazards;

• shoe safety requirements; and• hazard communication protocols.

Beyond safety training, the univer-sal standards also require food planttechnicians to be certified by the ap-plicable regulatory agency and haveproof of technical training specific tofood plants, including training in cur-rent good manufacturing practices(GMPs). Does your provider haveproof of such training? It’s worth ask-ing to be sure you’re not surprised ataudit time.

Look Back Before LookingForwardThey say history repeats itself, butwhen there’s a pest problem in yourplant, no one wants a repeat. Look-ing back at your past pest manage-ment records is extremely importantwhen developing a customized pestmanagement program. The NPMArecommends that your provider in-spect the entire site and interview keyplant contacts about past pest activityand pest management work. Haveyou had a pest problem at your facil-ity? If so, where? What treatmentmethods were used? And so forth.

Your provider should also checkfor areas prone to pests, the “hotspots” around your facility. Follow-ing are the NPMA’s recommenda-tions on the most common pestsfound in food processing settings.

Rodents: Once your providercompletes the site analysis, consultan NPMA matrix for recommenda-tions regarding service frequency andbait station spacing to help preventrodents. This aspect is dynamic and isbased on history and intensity of ro-dent infestation. Work with your pestmanagement professional to makeongoing adjustments as needed. Theuniversal standards mandate at leasta quarterly audit.

Insects: Your pest managementprofessional should inspect for in-sects on at least a monthly basis andmake recommendations accordingly.For stored-product pest prevention,

the NPMA recommends pheromonetraps, which lure pests to a sticky trapusing synthetic versions of the pests’own biological pheromones. Shouldyou suspect an infestation, the bot-tom line from a food safety standpointis that you must immediately isolateany infested materials. From a busi-ness standpoint, you want to keep

product loss to a minimum. If stored-product pests are found, always de-termine the source before acting; thisstep will help reduce product loss andsave money.

NPMA guidelines recommend us-ing fly lights, which trap and monitorflying insects. Fly lights must bechecked weekly for potential infesta-tions. Sticky traps should be moni-tored monthly, and the stickymaterial should be replaced duringeach visit.

The guidelines recommend in-sect growth regulators, or IGRs, tohelp reduce adult populations ofcrawling insects. Regardless of thetreatment method, make sure to useproducts labeled for use at your facil-ity to prevent food contamination.

Birds: Birds can contaminateyour plant’s product and create haz-ardous conditions. Your providershould alert you to any areas suscep-tible to bird infestations, and youshould approve any wire, net device,or material used to prevent roosting.

Additional information on bird con-trol can be found on www.pest-world.org in the NPMA resourcecenter.

No matter the pest, promptly re-port any signs of pest activity to yourprovider. Constant monitoring andmaintenance are the keys to makingpest problems a thing of the past.

Communication, Record-KeepingEveryone knows how important goodcommunication is to any relation-ship, whether it’s with your family,friends, or customers. But if you thinkof your pest management provider as“just another vendor” who comes andgoes with little interaction from you,think again. As with any relationship,you can’t underestimate the impor-tance of good communication withyour provider.

First, strike the word “vendor”from your vocabulary altogether.Your pest management professionalshould be your partner, with whomyou work closely to prevent pests. Re-member, your provider should beyour biggest ally when it comes topreparing you for audits.

There are three key takeawaysfrom the NPMA’s guidelines on com-munication and record-keeping:

• The NPMA recommends pest con-trol documentation that includesmaterial safety data sheets, a

April/May 2009

Consult a National Pest Management Association matrix forrecommendations on service frequency and bait-station spacingto help prevent rodents. Placement will be based on history andintensity of rodent infestation.

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logbook of all pest sightings andtreatments, and copies of pestmanagement technicians’ licen-ses and insurance.

• Your pest management providershould keep all records and docu-ments, making them available toyou within a reasonable time. Youmay keep these records electroni-cally; back-up copies should bekept at your pest control com-pany’s office. Remember, docu-mentation—the more detailed, thebetter—will need to be ready at au-dit time.

• Your pest control provider shouldconduct an annual educationaltraining session for plant person-nel. Getting your staff on boardwith your pest management ef-forts is crucial to the success ofyour program, but if they don’tknow what to look for, how canyou expect them to participate? If

you haven’t had staff training onintegrated pest management inthe past year, talk to your pestmanagement provider about hold-ing a staff training session soon.

Conduct regular inspections and fos-ter an open dialogue with your pestmanagement professional. Come au-dit time, you’ll be glad you did. Andlet’s be honest, it’s no fun to celebratesuccess alone.

Fall Back on PartnershipPreparing for the pest managementportion of your audit can be a daunt-ing task, but with these new guide-lines, you and your provider candetermine the best plan for your facil-ity. The universal guidelines are de-signed to help you perform better onyour pest control audits, regardless ofwhich auditor you use. But remem-ber, they are just guidelines, not a sil-ver bullet. Every plant is different andrequires a customized program, aswell as ongoing evaluation and main-tenance.

Lean on your provider, your part-ner in pest management, who istrained and licensed to help you everystep of the way. Working together, youmight even look forward to your nextaudit. ■

Dr. Siddiqi is director of quality systems for Orkin Inc. Formore information, e-mail him at zsiddiqi@rollins.com orvisit www.orkincommercial.com.

SAFETY & SANITATION Pest Management

For stored-product pestprevention, the NationalPest ManagementAssociation recommendspheromone traps, whichlure pests to a sticky trapusing synthetic versionsof their own biologicalpheromones.

To learn more, or for a free, on-site consultation, call us toll free at

1-800-ORKIN-NOW or visit us online at www.orkincommercial.com

Reprinted with permission from Food Quality magazine, April/May, 2009.

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