INSECT - AND MITE-FREE DRY FOOD MANUFACTURING: IS IT POSSIBLE WITHOUT METHYL BROMIDE?

Abstract:
For over 50 years methyl bromide has been used in ever increasing quantities for broad-spectrum pest control and eradication. In dry food manufacturing its good penetrative properties both into commodities and into the structural complexities of buildings made it a very useful “blanket” eradication fumigation treatment. Some food industry sectors, pre-empting the world-wide concern over the environmental effects of methyl bromide, have worked to find alternatives to traditional fumigation. However, there are many significant importing, processing and manufacturing sub-sectors claiming still to need methyl bromide due to special circumstances and high risk factors. It is clear that these views are often very insular, since the alternatives, at least in general principle terms, are already well established or are being actively developed in other sectors or countries. This paper investigates the possible alternatives to methyl bromide (on the premise that effectively the Montreal Protocol will permit almost no exceptions to its complete withdrawal) by reference to work already established or being undertaken in related food industry sectors. Its main conclusion is that the solutions are already available, although cross-sector collaboration, itself unusual, and probably without significant governmental funding, is needed to transfer the technology and to achieve workable results within the required time scale. The pressures of what is now a political decision will ultimately lead to a much higher standard of more sophisticated pest prevention and control within the human food manufacturing and storage industries which, in turn, will result in far less insect and mite contamination of finished, manufactured food products.