Food Processing Plant Fumigation

05/2022 Issue

Food Processing Plant Fumigation

By: Jeff Waggoner, ACE

VP and General Manager for FSS, Inc.

The food supply in the US is plentiful.  We import fresh fruit during our off seasons and grow beef on our land.  We have the variety we desire year round.  Our food travels many miles from where it is grown and produced to where we consume it, yet is affordable and of good quality.  Until it isn’t.

If covid shutdowns taught us anything it taught us that interruptions of just a day or so can cause major shortages (I remember toilet paper for example) in products.  Well, what about unscheduled plant shutdowns coupled with expensive FDA recalls?  Well, for some it is a reality.

Too often, budget and production trumps quality putting consumers, employees, and brands at risk.  Companies have failed and people have been jailed as a result of failed programs and negligence to protect products from harmful pathogens.

Pest management with a focus on food safety is paramount in the food industry.  It has even expanded into other supporting systems as well.  Perhaps without legislation regulating it, but with the awareness, it has trickled down to even the bulk commodity suppliers by default.  So, it’s worth asking what constitutes pest management?  Is checking your devices any kind of management?  Not really.  It’s merely data collection so it can drive a secondary function.  These secondary functions may range from exclusion to sanitation to fumigation.  It really depends on your unique situation and set of circumstances.

Let’s say for instance that you have an immediate threat to product stemming from a pest issue.  Let’s say this has been happening for some time and has gone undetected or perhaps even has been reported in your data but has not been escalated and managed properly.  How liable will you be if and when someone reports a finding or worse, gets sick as a result.  How can you fix it and how will you autopsy the events that led you to this situation?

You can effectively remedy chronic pest issues by fumigation.  Fumigation is often thought of as the most toxic treatment option and performed only under worst case scenario.  In actuality, fumigation is the application of a gaseous pesticide knows as a fumigant.  A fumigant is a Restricted Use Product (RUP) and should only be used by highly skilled, trained, and licensed applicators.  Fumigants are introduced into the space as a gas and quickly penetrate equipment, cracks, crevices, products, and all areas of the structure until it reaches equilibrium.  The plant must be evacuated prior to application obviously, but over a given weekend, an entire facility can be alleviated of harbored pests threatening systems and facilities.  With supply chain under constant pressure, you might consider fumigation as an option to ensure unplanned interruptions are not in your future.

What to expect during your fumigation?  You should have an assessment of the target areas and your Fumigator In Charge (FIC) must develop a plan called a Fumigation Management Plan (FMP).  This FMP will outline the steps necessary to ensure a safe and effective fumigation.  Facility preparation, introduction, exposure, and aeration are all essential parts of a successful application.  Good communication and a dedicated point of contact are essential.  Following your application an autopsy of the fallout should be conducted to highlight areas of concern.  These areas where dead pests are present are evidence of a successful treatment as well as insight to where exclusion, engineering, sanitation, and pest management operations should focus moving forward to reduce risk and properly manage pests where they harbor.

While fumigation is often thought of as a sign of failure, it is an important tool in the IPM toolbox.  We rely on it heavily in other industries to prevent outbreaks and transfer of pests from one place to another.  Fumigants leave behind only casualties of the offenders.  There is no harmful residue on contact surfaces and no cleaning is required.  There is no risk of contamination of product.  Once sufficiently aerated, the space, products and equipment can safely resume normal operations.  And you as a relieved Quality Assurance or Sanitation professional can focus on maintaining a clean facility rather than be relegated to fighting fires, stress, and unnecessary risk. 

If you’d like to learn more about how fumigation may be right for you and how a variety of fumigation options and techniques might fit your unique situation, please contact us for more information.