The Importance of Pest Control for Food Storage Facilities

Refrigerator chamber with steel shelves in a restaurant

What is the importance of pest control for food storage facilities?

  1. Limit the spread of diseases
  2. Prevent equipment and asset damage
  3. Retain business reputation
  4. Avoid business closure

 

Pest control for food storage has a number of advantages for numerous businesses in the industry. Relying on pest control allows restaurants and food businesses to sustain their day-to-day operations and keep customer confidence in their products and services.

Without pest control, those in the industry may face challenges such as a non-hygienic facility, damaged equipment, poor pest treatment, or in extreme cases, even closure. If you seek for professional help, you can continue reading about freezing storage solutions.

Keeping all of these in mind, the food and beverage industry must see to it that they’re taking advantage of professional pest control services to keep facilities clean. As they work to ensure the best services for their customer, so too will they have to focus on maintaining cleanliness. With pest control, the industry can easily limit the spread of diseases, prevent equipment damage caused by pests, improve food handling, maintain reputation, and take preventative action on limiting pests. Read on to learn more.

 

Limit The Spread of Diseases

Cleaned potatoes on a conveyor belt, prepared for packing

Different types of pests and vermin can lead to the spread of diseases, especially when facilities are not practicing proper pest control and maintenance. Rodents, for example, can cause leptospirosis, salmonella, rat-bite fever, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, and the like. Other pests like cockroaches, on the other hand, may also cause similar diseases, on top of cockroach bites, salmonella, E. coli, or even gastroenteritis. Droppings from these pests can lead to food contamination which is harmful to both staff and customers.

In order to avoid disease-spreading caused by pests, it’s crucial that facilities invest in pest control services. Technicians from a local exterminator can conduct scheduled inspections on a quarterly or even a bimonthly period. This is to ensure that there are no pests that can find shelter in food storage compartments and avoid contamination of food products.

Personnel can safely conduct proper food handling, preparation, and packing, assuring the customers that they can safely dine — in restaurants — or safely consume the products at a later date.

 

Prevent Equipment and Asset Damage

Food facilities house different types of equipment that are used for food processing and cooking. These can be ovens, conveyor belts, industrial mixers, slicers, meat mincers, storage shelves, containers, sinks, steam tables, microwave, stove, electric grills, fryers, and the like. When there’s a pest problem that has been left unaddressed, these machines can get damaged because pests can be lodged in the components.

Major damages to kitchen equipment can be costly to repair and may even cause a temporary halt in the operations of a food business. If staff is not trained to inspect for pest issues, they may not be able to remove dead and rotting pests that have unfortunately been stuck into the machinery’s workings.

Aside from proper equipment maintenance, pest control is actually crucial in ensuring that kitchen equipment is functioning properly. Establishments won’t have to spend too much money on repair and replacement, making pest control a cost-effective solution.

 

Retain Business Reputation

Cooking

Customer complaints are not uncommon in the food industry. You’ll often see them taking to social media to complain about poor service, leave bad reviews, or even upload photos and videos of pests they’ve caught on camera.

Your business’ digital footprint can be difficult to erase, which is why if you want to maintain a good reputation, make sure that your restaurant devotes time for a pest inspection.

Think about it this way: Pest control can prevent random pests from popping out in different locations of your facility. With a clean and safe business, your customers won’t have to resort to extreme measures just to put your brand in a bad light because of a single cockroach leg they found on their food or a rat scurrying under a table.

 

Avoid Business Closure

Your business may also be shut down if you don’t take pest concerns seriously. However, you should note that this happens only in extreme cases. Facilities that are negligent of their duties to maintain a hygienic and safe workplace for staff and customers alike are often the target of these closures.

Acquiring pest control services should be practiced consistently in your facility. For example, it’s not enough that you have your processing plant or restaurant inspected once for sanitation. Instead, see to it that you contact your local pest control professional in the future so that your restaurant doesn’t become a hotspot for harmful pests.

 

Key Takeaway

The importance of pest control for food storage should always be prioritized in the food and beverage industry. Different businesses rely on providing food services for their customers. When this is hampered due to the presence of pests, your business can be subject to a number of ramifications that can harm operations.

With this in mind, see to it that you rely on an expert pest control professional like Topbest Philippines for all pest control requirements. Click here now to request a free consultation! You may also check out this page to learn more about our pest control services.