Cockroaches: Caught in the Act

Schripps Foods draws a hard line on pest activity — literally, with an 18-inch thick painted, bright-yellow visual barrier that trails the facility’s perimeter.

Its purpose is two-fold, said Marc Fintz, quality assurance manager for the wholesale manufacturer’s facilities in Hunts Point, N.Y., and Bergen, N.J. “We never place anything beyond that barrier so there is a good amount of walk-around space for inspection,” he said. “If there is a pallet on the floor, an employee or the pest control company can fully get around it, not just three sides.”

The line’s color is intentional. “If there is roach activity or mice droppings, you have a better ability to see it on a bright perimeter,” said Fintz.

Elevated product storage also helps inspectors spot pest activity more easily. Pallets and raised platforms for storing ingredients like flour bags allow anyone on the plant floor to shine a light underneath to determine if the ground is all clear of pest activity.

This covers the surface of pest prevention and cockroach control at Schripps. The program goes deeper and involves multi-tiered engagement with a see-something-say-something bottom line.

As inspection goes, “it’s a lot like looking for an escaped convict,” said Robert Long, director of corporate food safety and sanitation at Flowers Foods. “They are hiding and will turn up in places you don’t want them to be.”

Inspection and integrating layers of control produce the outcomes that survey respondents are realizing with cockroaches, with 97% reporting success.

When there’s failure, reasons include low-quality pest control service, lack of staff buy-in and hitchhiking pests traveling in on employees’ belongings and supply chain deliveries.

Another roadblock: a tight budget that makes buying good control a struggle. This relates to an operational challenge cited by Ernest Otter, president of Detroit-based EcoPest and AuditReady: upper management buy-in.

“The same manager that might cut back on a sanitation schedule might not fully invest in maintenance work that needs to be done for pest-proofing, and the same manager extends production time so they can get more product out of the door,” he said.

More production means less time for sanitation, creating more opportunities for harborage areas. Neglected maintenance decreases Integrated Pest Management (IPM) efficacy. This is the “dark underbelly” of cost-saving pressures, Otter said.

But across the board, survey respondents and leaders QA magazine interviewed said a concerted effort to boost transparency and control yields results.

“You have to be vigilant and make sure you’re not creating spaces for pests to build a residence,” said Long.

No, Thanks.

At Latitude 360 Foods in Cincinnati, Ohio, the ready-to-eat facility where Will Bourgeois is quality food safety manager, a supplier program vets vendors to help tease out one layer of risk. But that doesn’t mean a truck hasn’t been compromised along the way.

“We combat that with thorough inspections upon receiving, powered by flashlights,” he said.

Fintz’s team at Schripps Foods has declined product deliveries. He encourages staff, “Don’t be afraid to shine a flashlight inside a truck.”

“We refused a piece of equipment we bought at an auction when it was delivered because there was evidence of cockroach activity in the oven, and there was no proof of fumigation,” Fintz said.

Even new equipment shipped from the factory could be exposed to pest activity if the manufacturing facility has an issue.

Other culprits include doorways leading inside and out, as well as into production areas. A secure, airtight separation allows the company to diversify its cockroach control strategy. Some areas cannot be treated directly.

“We are an organic facility,” Bourgeois explained, indicating that pest control materials are restricted in food processing areas, while employee zones like lockers and the breakroom are baited.

When you’re in the bread business, trays of product sent to supermarkets and restaurants leave the facility inspected but don’t always return that way.

Flowers Foods’ Long explained, “They get set outside by a grease vent hood or a dumpster, and the labels get stuck. We have to be careful when we unload our dirty tray trailers to look for insects and vermin.”

As director of corporate food safety and sanitation, Long said a “robust assessment” and tray wash system mitigates issues.

“When I visit a site, I expect to get dirty,” he said. “I expect to crawl around and look for problems, including pest activity. I want to find anything before it becomes a problem for the customer.”

But dedication to sanitation goes beyond this, he said.

“If you see activity near a pump stand or in some electrical panels or wireways, inside wall cladding, you have to get aggressive and work with your pest control company,” Long said. “Consider the options. Can you drill holes in the wall for treatments? Will you need to pull off wall sections to access, clean, vacuum and effectively seal those back up afterward?”

Drained.

Drains are a concern across FSQA leaders’ cockroach hot spot watches.

“We keep them covered when not in use,” Fintz said. “It’s no different than rolling doors.”

Jeff Nelken, food safety coach and HACCP compliance consultant, agrees: “Roaches travel through drainpipes, and many food processing places only clean those within 3 to 6 inches of the opening. They can travel through the entire building.”

In some highly regulated regions, pest control material restrictions limit drain treatments. For example, Courtland Imel, a senior consultant with Ceutical Labs, based in Dallas, said foaming agents are off the table in his area of operation.

The strategy for now: upon lifting the drain cover, pour “extremely hot” water into the drain for a clear-out, and keep that cover on when not in use, said Imel.

If These Walls Could Speak.

Hairline cracks, pin-hole sized gaps, buckling cladding and other infrastructural shifts are an invitation for cockroaches to fester, nest and reproduce.

Otter refers to the full-stop procedure as “fit and finish” (he’s writing a book by this title), borrowed from “guys who restore cars,” he said, of which he is one.

“Did you just repair something, or did you seal it and finish it so it’s a cleanable surface? Or did you just create a new point of entry that will trap filth?” he challenged.

It happens all the time, mostly with good intentions. Otter described a new community facility where, during a walk-through, he discovered the overhead loading dock doors didn’t correctly seal. This was an equipment manufacturer issue, but pest control providers need to take note.

“This is the expertise our industry must have,” said Otter.

Kristin Bradshaw is a quality assurance document specialist at Hilland Dairy Foods Company in Dallas. She said the company has had to open up walls to treat them.

“The greatest vulnerability has been walls, in which the roaches have been able to find niches that provide them with sanctuary to populate,” she said.

Perimeter treatments continue to be a first-line defense and help keep indoor pressure at bay, Bradshaw said.

Nelken explained how weather stripping and door sweeps are also a wall against unwanted visitors.

“Over time, they get bent out of shape,” he said of time-warp, weather conditions and general wear and tear. “If there’s not a tight seal, there’s opportunity.”