Global Food Safety Initiatives and Its Impact on Pest Management Programs in North America

Abstract:
Traditionally food safety involving pest control in commercial food establishments in North America has been the responsibility of each food manufacturer or retail establishment and then subject to any audit or inspection by regulatory agencies. Third party food safety auditors also played an active role as they were and are retained either on a voluntary basis or if and when required by their customers. During this phase, the government regulatory agencies have requirements for controlling pests and preventing food contamination. The third party food safety auditing agencies also have their specific guidelines for pest control. The food safety and pest control requirements became more stringent after the introduction of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program. The National Pest Management Association in the United States created standards that met most of the requirements making it easier for service provider to deliver a pest management program. The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) was created in May 2000. GFSI contains criteria for food standards including pest management. An organization may comply with GFSI specifications in the United States or Canada or elsewhere. With the introduction of GFSI the North American pest management service providers are challenged to quickly adopt the new requirements of these audit criteria. This article reviews how Orkin has been impacted and has modified its documentation that is required to satisfy global food safety audit criteria.