NEWS – Commercial Pest Control: There has been an increase in cases of cockroach, rat, and mice infestations over the last 12 months and this has caused a record number of commercial establishments to close.
The Food Safety Authority figures reveal that there were many more establishments issued with closure orders and prohibition orders to prevent them from selling unsafe food.
This was due to several factors, including basic hygiene breaches such as the lack of hot water, insufficient staff training, rat and mice infestations, cockroaches, and ants.
In several food preparation establishments, mice droppings were found in the bakery area, confectionary kitchen, staff canteens, toilets, and food storage areas. In addition, and more distressing, dead mice were also found in several areas of affected premises.
Another example is an Italian restaurant that was issued with a prohibition order due to an infestation of rodent droppings next to cabinets containing food. Another long-established restaurant was issued with a closure order due to the presence of cockroaches and for having no food hygiene system in place.
In several places, these issues were revoked when the problem was fixed and they changed their working practices.
If you have a pest control problem it’s imperative that if you are serving the public you must ensure that you not only are free of rodents, cockroaches, or ants but that you have in place hygiene systems to ensure that rodents find no reason to be attracted to your premises. This includes keeping food in sealed containers and making sure that food and crumbs are not left lying around.
Everything is washed and put away as you work, food is not left out all display cabinets are at the right temperature and there is no access.
Remember, rats and mice can get through very small holes so even a small gap can invite a rodent in.
For advice and help on what to do to prevent an infestation please contact us at HLA Pest Control today.