Understanding a general contractors role in food safety and prevention.
This article titled, ‘Pest Control’s Critical Role in Food Safety’ from Food Processing Magazine does a good job of outlining the importance of pest control in food process facilities. Naturally, food safety is compromised when rodents, insects, birds, etc. enter or infest a food processing facility; and the thought is not appealing to anyone. However, it is a real concern given the fact that the facility has food, warmth, and shelter – everything pests need to survive. It’s important that food processing facilities focus on pest control prevention rather than reaction. Ultimately though things happen and if there is an infestation, you must react as early as it’s detected. Once detected working with a qualified, food-certified contractor to help remedy the situation.
This is where a certified contractor is worth its weight in gold. General contractors and design-build firms that have certifications in Safe Quality Food (SQF) by the Safe Quality Food Institute and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) by SGS, as well as versed and experienced in the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), offer the best option for food process facilities to ensure the environment remains uncontaminated. Both the SQF and HACCP certifications increase contractors brief of understanding of food safety and prevention issues as it’s associated with working in a food processing facilities. These certifications help circumvent issues that might arise if a contractor doesn’t have this same knowledge.
At Galbraith Pre-Design we know what to look for when it comes to pest control, and we know how to fix and prevent deficiencies based on our vast knowledge and certifications in food safety. We always conduct walk-through inspections of food and beverage facilities, looking for pest control issues where they relate to building infrastructure. As outlined in this article, top hot spots for rodents are lines (wires, pipes, beams), places that have shadows, warm spots and quiet or voided areas of a facility. When we work with clients if the facility already has a pest control report provided to them by their pest control provider we work with clients to fix the deficiencies noted.
When Galbraith Pre-Design conducts a facility walk-through we look for items such as missing or deteriorated door seals, improperly operating doors, cracks in walls, cracks in floors, damaged window screens, improperly operating windows, roof penetrations, louvers, and vents; the list is endless. If we find any of these items, we note the deficiencies, providing us and our clients with the knowledge of how to the correct the problem with a permanent solution.
You can call on us, like many food process facilities do, to conduct preventative inspections and make preventative repairs. After all, is the risk of rodent and pest problems really worth it?
Our team installed plastic containment enclosures, utilized electric and propane equipment, and conducted wet-cutting on existing concrete. In addition, concrete was found to be thicker than tested, which required traveling to New Jersey to pick up appropriate equipment. We saw cut and jackhammered existing concrete, excavated for pier footings, and formed and poured fresh concrete – turning three (3) separate pours into one pour by using experience and ingenuity. Due to the concrete demo delay, we were behind schedule, which was not and option. Therefore, to serve our customer, we improvised to get back on track.
In food processing facilities, floors and stairs take a lot of abuse from heavy footwear, sanitation chemicals, and food byproducts (in this case fats, oils, sugars, and syrups). Floors are probably the number #1
Galbraith/Pre-Design, Inc. recently became a contractor member of the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA).
