{"id":5520,"date":"2017-07-20T15:17:37","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vwa.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5520"},"modified":"2025-05-12T10:48:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T10:48:47","slug":"food-safety-buzz-off-insects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vwa.co.uk\/blog\/food-safety-buzz-off-insects\/","title":{"rendered":"Food safety pests \u2013 Buzz off insects! HACCP prerequisite #foodsafety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Insects might be on the menu at certain \u2018avant garde\u2019 restaurants. Indeed, there are now insect farms breeding crickets etc. as an alternative to meat protein. However, if they\u2019re not an intentional ingredient in your products, you need to take all steps to eliminate them from your premises. In fact, food safety pest control is a prerequisite for any HACCP plan<\/a> and essential for food safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An effective food safety programme relies on being able to produce food that is safe for human consumption. It is imperative that any form of contamination is identified and controlled. Anyone who has been on our Level 3 Food Safety course <\/a>will know how to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flies are a danger to food safety<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Amongst the most common pests are flies. Filth flies (which include drain flies, house flies and flesh flies) can carry over 100 pathogens that can cause disease in humans. These include Salmonella, cholera, Shigella, Campylobacter<\/a>, E. coli, Cryptosporidium, parasitic worms and fungi. All are a huge threat to food safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other types of fly include Blowflies, fruit flies, houseflies and moth flies. The fact that flies can fly makes them difficult to contain. They can go from area to area depositing filth on to food. They don\u2019t care whether they feast on faecal matter, decaying and rotten food, animal carcasses or on fresh and stored food and ingredients. They\u2019ll just flit happily between them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How flies feed<\/span><\/figure><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The way flies feed is pretty revolting and a hazard as far as food safety is concerned. They break down solid food by depositing saliva onto it and regurgitate juices containing digestive enzymes. This process turns the food to liquid which they then suck up. Normally they will defecate at the same time. Nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be fooled into thinking that just one or two flies that have got in to your premises. Flies breed quickly. As well as areas where food and ingredients are present, they will also find other homes. Favourite place are bins, drains, floor traps (where they feed on the slime that accumulates) and cracked damp flooring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to keep flies out<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Keeping flies out of food manufacturing, storage and preparation areas can be a real challenge. Obviously, cleanliness is of paramount importance to ensure food safety. Here are a number of steps you can take to keep them away:<\/p>\n\n\n\n