Pest Management Program threshold level for Food Processing

IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management. IPM is a system that incorporates best practices to provide a balance of effectiveness, safety and environmentally sound pest management at the lowest cost. When fully executed, IPM will provide a robust program for the management of rodents, birds, insects, and other pests. We will also be discussing Pest Management Program threshold level for Food Processing units. Every food manufacturing facility regardless of its size must establish Pest Management Program threshold level for Food Processing.

IPM is based on the prevention of pests,  monitoring their activity, and applying control techniques when a “threshold” is reached.

Importance of IPM Program in Food Processing

Here we are discussing importance of Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) and why IPM program is important for food processing units, whether those are big unit, restaurants or small food processing unit.

• Pests are sources of pathogens causing foodborne illnesses
• IPM is one of the critical food safety elements required by food management systems implementation
• IPM compliance is required by all auditing companies as well like e.g GFSI

IPM Action Threshold Requirements:

1. IPM Risk Assessment:

Assess the overall facility risk for pest activity.

1. Define Threshold Limit:– Defines the limits for allowable pest activity and activity that triggers additional actions by the facility.  – Establish threshold limits for pest types based on risks identified and past performance.
2. Monitoring & Review:– Conduct ongoing monitoring for pest activity and operational changes that affect pest management.   – Develop trending reports to evaluate the program.

Example- IPM Threshold Levels for Food Processing Units.

Note: Above is an example of IPM threshold level, this may vary as per your food processing and weather conditions.