A range of fly control for the food industry

Why are flies so problematic for the food industry?

Flies disturb the production process, hit revenue and pose major threats to health, safety and sanitary compliance – and there are 120,000 species of fly worldwide, posing a health risk to staff, customers and livestock by spreading disease and contaminating goods. They also have a short lifecycle and can multiply rapidly, with some fly species able to mature from eggs to adults in just seven days. As you can imagine, that can cause a real problem, quickly.

Rentokil commissioned the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) to survey decision-makers across five countries to understand the impact of pest infestations. The results revealed that a single fly infestation can cause staff illnesses that lead to businesses losing more than nine working days every year. But staff absenteeism is just the beginning. There are many other reasons why flies are a threat to food businesses and need to be controlled. Without proper prevention, businesses could suffer from:

• contamination of stock and product, while being a risk to health by carrying disease such as:
  • Salmonella
  • Shigellosis
  • E.Coli
  • Cryptosporididium
  • Myiasis

• an economic impact on businesses
• a negative influence of reputation
• contravening compliance and legislation.

The risk to food safety is critical. Well-publicised incidents of foodborne illness outbreaks continue to  increase the public’s awareness around food quality and safety, meaning a fly infestation can lead to long term loss of trust from customers, and damage to brand reputation.

No food environment is exempt from responsibility. Flies can affect kitchens, restaurants, bars and clubs, poultry farms, local food retail, food processing – anywhere food is present. With food safety at the top of the agenda these days, a zero-tolerance approach to flies and any form of pest contamination within the food environment is essential.

The best ways to control flies

Adopting rigorous hygiene practices in your businesses can go some way to preventing fly infestations.

Practical measures to deter flies should include:

• Ensuring that no supplies are in the early stages of decay.
• Cleaning production areas and equipment while inspecting regularly.
• Disposing of rubbish regularly — especially in hotter climates.
• Ensuring there is sufficient storage volume for the waste produced.
• Keeping supply areas clean.
• Cleaning drains and making sure that they are kept free of accumulating organic matter.
• Using appropriate insect light traps (ILT).
• Positioning fly bait boxes in areas like outside rubbish bays.

Exclusion is also key to keeping flies at bay. These measures could and should include:

• The use of fly screens on windows and vents.
• Appropriate door design and doors kept shut when not in use.
• The prevention of gaps appearing in any part of the building fabric.

Taking a proactive approach to fly prevention will help you avoid more costly treatments if an infestation becomes more serious. Once standard hygiene and exclusion practices have been implemented, the best way to keep infestations at bay is to use an LED ILT for effective monitoring and control.

Introducing the best LED range of ILTs on the market

The Lumnia range of LED ILT’s provides commercial fly control solutions designed to effectively attract, kill and encapsulate flies in a hygienic manner. Lumnia’s innovative LED ILTs are the modern solution to an age-old problem – attracting and containing flying insects quickly and securely and keeping them out of sight.

Lumnia works by using high-attraction LED lamps. These lamps can reach up to 80% further than traditional units. Once removed from the environment, a non-pesticide glue board and encapsulation cassette inside the unit reduces the risk of insect fragments escaping and helps to prevent cross-contamination. Simple to clean and service, the units have been designed with a sliding mechanism to allow safe access and removal of glue boards.

Why businesses should choose the Lumnia range

Having the right protection in place to prevent fly infestations is imperative – and Lumnia is the solution. Its optimised LED lamps can catch flies faster than any other LED ILT on the market and will ensure that your business is both fully compliant and mitigating the risk of food contamination.

Lumnia’s LED lamps also save up to 70% of energy use compared to fly traps that use fluorescent bulbs. Lumnia LED lamps even reduce carbon emissions by 62%, so you can now reduce your carbon footprint and save on electricity bills. As well as all that, LED lamps also last longer – around three years – so they don’t have to be replaced every year.

The highly effective, out-of-sight glue board can be serviced quickly and easily, with minimal disruption to your business operations, but most importantly, the Lumnia range complies with all legal and health and safety requirements, giving you peace of mind and letting you concentrate on the day-to-day running of your fly-free business.

Get in touch with us today to book your free pest risk survey, or for more information on the Lumnia range for your business.