By Jennifer Brumfield
In the complicated world of food processing, facility managers have a lot on their minds. Between complying with federal regulations, navigating strict safety guidelines, and maintaining a high standard of quality, there are many challenges that must be managed to ensure efficient operations and customer satisfaction. However, there is one important consideration that is critical to keep top of mind in the food processing industry: pest management.
While often operating in the background of a food processing facility, pest management is just as important as having the right equipment and sanitation procedures. For food processing professionals looking to improve their pest management in 2025, it’s critical to understand the potential threats an infestation could cause, along with the common pests that affect the industry and strategies for preventing them.
The Hidden Costs Of Pest Infestations
While pests can cause problems for any business, the threats they pose to the food processing industry are particularly troublesome. From safety and quality concerns to negative business impacts, a pest infestation at a food processing facility can lead to:
- Contamination: Many of the pests that are attracted to food processing facilities, such as flies, cockroaches, and rodents, frequently visit areas that harbor germs and bacteria. Whether trash areas or drains, these pests pick up and spread around bacteria and contaminate food products that they encounter. If these products get delivered or sold to the public, it can lead to foodborne illness and even recalls.
- Reputational damage: Contaminated products do more than present health concerns. All it takes is one shipment of contaminated food to damage a company’s reputation for years to come. Especially in an industry as highly regulated as food processing, word travels fast. You don’t want a pest infestation to be the reason all the hard work that goes into building trust goes to waste.
- Lost profits: Last but not least, contaminated food products caused by a pest infestation can lead to profit loss and negative business performance. Not only can pest issues result in lost contracts and future business, but it can also result in increased food waste. Having to dispose of inventory that has been contaminated by pests disrupts operations and hurts your bottom line.
Common Pests That Wreak Havoc In Food Processing
Pests are drawn to food processing environments due to the three main attractants they provide: food, water, and shelter. Understanding the common pests that threaten food processing facilities is the first step to implementing effective prevention and treatment measures.
Some of the pests most likely to invade a facility are:
- Flies: These flying insects are prevalent in food processing facilities because of the plethora of food sources, but their presence can make it challenging to pass audits. Like rodents and cockroaches, they gather around trash, drains, and other germy surfaces, and then carry and transfer bacteria anywhere they land. Flies might be tiny in size, but they present a big problem for food processing facilities. Thankfully, there are several pest management strategies designed to control and minimize their impact.
- Rodents: Rats and mice can squeeze their way into food processing facilities through holes a fraction of their size, and once inside, they rapidly start causing issues. They transmit 35 diseases, such as salmonellosis, typhus, and more, and they reproduce quickly. If you see just one rodent, it’s important to get the situation under control before it becomes an infestation.
- Beetles: There are several types of beetles, such as confused flour beetles, red flour beetles, and saw-toothed grain beetles, that can feed on and destroy stored food products. While they don’t necessarily transmit bacteria, they deposit dead bodies, cast skins, fecal pellets, and quinones in grains, which cause unpleasant odors and moisture buildup, resulting in mold. Each type of beetle requires a different treatment, making it critical to properly identify which beetle you’ve got.
- Cockroaches: Most people (especially in urban areas) have experienced these insects before, but food processing facilities offer the perfect conditions for cockroaches to thrive. With plenty of food and water sources, as well as crevices in which to hide, cockroaches like to make their home in food processing facilities, bringing 33 types of bacteria, seven kinds of human pathogens, and six varieties of parasitic worms with them. One of the most common diseases that cockroaches transmit is gastroenteritis, which can cause food poisoning, dysentery, and more, so it’s crucial for food processing professionals to get help to prevent an infestation.
Strategies To Help Maintain A Clean And Safe Facility
Preventing and mitigating pests in food processing facilities is possible, but only if it’s thought of as a priority. By maintaining a clean facility and leveraging professional pest management solutions when needed, you can help protect your facility from the risks pests pose to food safety and operations.
- Proper cleaning techniques: As mentioned above, pests are attracted to food processing facilities because they provide food sources, such as garbage and recycling areas, plenty of shelter, and water. By removing these attractants through cleaning and sanitization practices, you can mitigate some of the appeal. Quickly and effectively remove waste from your facility, and make sure you keep all drains clean and sanitized. Shelving and crevices offer the perfect place for pests to hide, so thoroughly clean those, as well. If you do notice infested products, such as flours and grains, discard immediately to reduce spread.
- Call in reinforcements: No matter how effective your prevention measures may be, pests are sneaky, and sometimes their presence is unavoidable. In that case, turn to your management team for help. Through services such as disinfectant treatments, round-the-clock pest monitoring, exclusion tactics, and more, pest professionals will know the most effective way to deal with the pests that are threatening your facility.
Among the day-to-day requirements of running a food processing business, pest management is a nonnegotiable to help maintain a clean, safe facility. Pests can cause health, reputational, and financial damage, so facility managers need to understand the types of pests that pose a threat to their business and how to prevent and treat them. By implementing a strategic, ongoing approach to pest management, you can ensure long-term success in an industry built on safety and trust.
Jennifer Brumfield is a Division Technical Director and Board Certified Entomologist for Western Pest Services, a New Jersey-based pest management company serving businesses and homeowners in major Mid-Atlantic markets.
