6 Steps to Keep Flies out of Food Production Facilities

Prevention is better than cure. There are many challenges of keeping the food production facilities safe from the filthy flies. According to the World Health Organization, flies can transmit over 65 different diseases including tuberculosis, typhoid and cholera. All these diseases can have a direct impact on your customer and staff’s health. Flies feed on decaying organic waste and then transfer pathogens from their feet to human food and food preparation surfaces, potentially place the consumer at health and food consumption safety risks.

The food storage, preparation and canteen area must be cleaned thoroughly and professionally cleaned to create a fly-free environment. These are several measures you can take to avoid attracting flies in the first place.

• Stringent sanitation practices
• Always clean drain and garbage area
• Defend your facility using barriers
• Facility maintenance
• Heat Treatment
• Ongoing inspections

Sanitation

The crucial key of keeping flies at bay is to ensure high levels of hygiene around your facility. Keep the foods fully sealed in packages or cans. The raw food should remain refrigerated when it is not being used. Flies are attracted to food and sugary substances; therefore, food spill and messes must be cleaned as soon as possible after they occur. In addition, the trash needs to be thrown away on a regular basis. The indoor and outdoor trash cans should always be covered, and waste remains properly disposed of because those will be the first to attract flies.

Regular cleaning onto the utensils, floors, surfaces, machinery and equipment will ensure extra sanitation around the facility. Dispose of the food that already expired and keep away all empty bottles that contained sugary drinks. Food preparation and production areas need to be kept clean and need to be inspected frequently to make sure that there are no breeding and feeding grounds available. Flies will be attracted even to the smallest pile of liquid or food, so it’s important to avoid this by checking for signs of infestation in delivery and storage areas, where spills can occur.

Food production manager must alert about the hygiene level of the facility, conducts a good cleaning maintenance schedule and use the right disinfection products to repel the flies.

Keep trash pails and drains clean

Understanding the category of pests helps to control and identify the flies’ infestation sources like a drain and fruit flies that are commonly found in the food facility. Drain flies are attracted to polluted shallow water or moist organic environments like sewage, drains, tanks and moist compost. Whereas fruit flies are attracted to fermenting fruit or other organic material and rotting bread yeast.

To avoid the build-up of slime where flies like to breed drains need to be kept clean and flushed out on a regular basis with appropriate drain cleaner. Always ensure that bins are not overflowing, they have lids that close and they are emptied and cleaned regularly. It’s also critical to bag everything that goes into the dumpster and keeps disposed moisture to a minimum. The keys to fighting the fruit flies and drain flies that are:

1. Fruit Flies:

• Constantly sprayed or fogged at the food production facility area for flying insects but do not spray directly on the fruits or food items.
• Wash the raw foods or fruits and store them tightly to avoid pest contamination.
• When the arrival of fresh fruits at the facility, the shipping cartons must be emptied and removed from the facility.
• Clean any area that consists of food sources and removes food stains.

2. Drain Flies:

• Use legal pesticides foam that clings to the pipe walls to eliminate fly eggs.
• Brush off with heavy-duty brush above the water trap inside the drain pipes.
• Wash all the facility drains with a cleaner that will cut through biofilm.

Defend your facility

The efficient, economical defend barriers that can be implemented quickly to keep flies away are:

1. Light Traps
2. Fly Repellents
3. Dual Doors and Air Curtains
4. Plants

Place the light traps with mercury vapour lights closer to the facility and the intensity of ultraviolet lights should be further away from the food facility to eliminate fly infestation. Installing a fly trap in food storage areas is a good way of keeping flies from contaminating uncooked food in your kitchen and keeping everything sanitary and safe.

Fly repellents are also a great way how to keep the flies at bay as they can’t stand the smell of the repellents. Spray the repellent on doors, windows and any cracked surfaces the flies are likely to use to get into your restaurant or its kitchen. The scent will keep them away and you won’t have to worry about a fly infestation in your establishment.

Prevent flies from entering the facilities by installing dual doors and air curtains. Dual doors and solid doors are durable and do not have hidden access areas. Use tight-fitting doors sweeps that sealed completely the gap against the floor with plastic or rubbers sweeps.

Growing plants like herbs, lavender, mint or basil and dried their leaves can deter the flies away in the food facility. Plant them in containers surrounding the facility and scatter the dried leaves close to the food storage areas. The herbs produce oils on the leaves surface which pests dislike.

Facility maintenance

The openings like any large cracks, holes and pipes should be sealed. Remember to close doors behind you and keep them closed and fitting screens on windows and vents are all good preventative measures. They allow air to circulate without letting in unwanted guests. Inspect the breaks of the exterior of the facility such as mortar joints, weather stripping, screens and sealants. Organize a schedule for repair maintenance. Even the smallest gaps can be big enough for flies to enter. Openings around HVAC systems, drains, water pipes, electrical conduits, or ventilation holes are all entry points for flies to get into your facility.

Be sure to weather-resistant caulk to seal gaps or plug any holes around the building to prevent this from happening. Pay attention to cracks and crevices in or near the floor as it can also be problematic because they can collect food, liquids, and other organic debris that can attract pests.

Heat Treatment

Heat treatments can be suitably applied to some food processing facilities because the food, equipment and products are able to resist high temperatures. The room temperature process may take about 126 °F to 131 °F and increase 5 to 10 °F per hour. Eventually, insects die due to dehydration and it damages some of the proteins and key enzymes throughout the heat treatment process. The heat treatment process can be held for 8 to 30 hours a day. This heat treatment can out with spot treatments which prevent unnecessary plant shut down and evacuate the building.

This method benefits the facility production as it prevents production loss and reducing plant downtime. In addition, the heat treatment is able to eliminate the insects in entirety because it destroys all insects’ life stages.

Inspections

Work with a professional pest management provider to identify conducive conditions in and around your facility that could attract flies and find the source of the infestation. The inspections should be conducted regularly and there must be continuous follow-ups for effective controlling of pest problems. It can reveal the insects breeding or infestation sites that were hidden by sight during routine inspections.

With fly problems, the answer to solving the problem is to locate the source of the issue and prevent the pest from getting in. The best alternatives and installing units will be identified after the site survey with a thorough inspection completed. There must not be any direct food contact surfaces such as the processing conveyor lines, sinks and food prep tables before installing the units and spray the area.

Professional Pest Control

Atalian Global Services Vietnam provides professional pest control services and dedicated to eradicating any pest problems for your business. If you have pest issues in your facility, do contact us for a free consultation today or for a thorough examination. Food regulation compliance can be achieved with adequate pest control measures and housekeeping habits cultivated.

To best protect your facility, work with our experienced pest management team to address the specific risks present at your food facility. We offer the best pest control service that is tailored to your specific needs and provides a cost-effective programme for you. We practice approved processes and use safe chemical only. Book us today!