The audit sheet · Check 02
A pest management plan for a food business, part by part
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) suggests a food business use a pest management plan that covers four things: the pests and the treatments, the areas to inspect and treat, where devices and pesticides are kept (with a site map), and how often inspections and treatments happen. It also suggests keeping a report of every inspection and treatment.
General information, not legal advice. FSANZ’s guidance explains how to meet the national pest rule; for your own premises in Victoria, your local council’s environmental health officer is the contact FSANZ lists for food safety programs.
The four parts of the plan
FSANZ frames the plan as the way a business reduces its risk under Standard 3.2.2. Set out as a form, the four parts look like this.
Pests and treatments
Which pests the plan expects, and the treatments to be used for them. FSANZ adds that pesticides should be approved for use in food premises and carry safety and expiry information.
Victoria’s food safety site names the usual suspects in food premises, from flying insects and cockroaches to rodents, pantry weevils and birds.
Areas to inspect and treat
FSANZ’s examples are behind appliances and equipment, inside wall cavities and cupboards, and under and inside boxes and packaging.
Victoria’s site explains why: pests like dark, undisturbed places with access to food and water, so pest-prone hiding places such as under sinks are worth checking regularly.
Devices, pesticides and the site map
Where each pest control device and pesticide is, placed so that pesticides or killed pests cannot touch food or food-contact surfaces, which rules out placing them above food preparation areas. Keep a site map of where they are.
FSANZ’s tips add keeping uncovered food away from pest control devices. An illustrated site map is on the home page.
How often
How often inspections and treatments are needed depends on the location, climate, food activities, type of pests and their activity. Regular visits mean expired pesticides are not used, baits are replaced or reset, and dead pests are removed.
Queensland Health’s guide says there is no prescribed frequency for treatment, because it varies with the premises and the product used.
The record of each visit
FSANZ calls keeping reports of pest inspections and treatments a good idea, and names what each report should hold. As the columns of a log:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date | The date of the inspection or treatment. |
| Type of pest activity | What was found, and where, so the next visit can compare. |
| Chemicals or controls used | Each pesticide, bait or device used on the visit. |
| Recommended actions | What the visit found needs doing. FSANZ says to do these as soon as you can. |
A column for the date each recommended action was done is not in FSANZ’s list, but it closes the loop the last field opens.
The operator keeps a record too
In Victoria, licensed pest control operators must keep certain records for every pesticide application on every job. The department’s guidelines for operators, published in 2010, listed what that record held at the time, among other details:
- the trade name and batch number of the pesticide;
- precautions to observe, including the re-entry period;
- the date and the start and finish times;
- a description of the areas treated, the pest, and the amount applied;
- the name and licence number of the person applying it.
Those guidelines were written under the 2009 regulations; the department now regulates operators under the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019, so read the list as a guide to what to expect rather than the current rule. Matching the operator’s record to your own log means the plan, the map and the visits all tell the same story.
Between visits
Victoria’s food safety site gives food handlers the everyday half of the plan. Among the things it lists:
- Report any sign of pests: droppings, fur, scratch marks.
- Take rubbish out often, never let bins overflow, and keep lids on the bins outside.
- Shut any door that is not being used.
- Keep food and equipment up off the floor, with food in sealed containers.
- Report cracks or holes in floors, ceilings, walls and fly-screens.
When pests are seen, the same site tells staff to report it to a supervisor or manager and follow their instructions, follow the label on any spray or bait, remove dead pests, label bait stations with the date they were set, and clear accumulated rubbish. Each of those is a line for the log.
For cafés and counters that open onto the street, a few of FSANZ’s general tips matter most: enclose food preparation areas as much as possible, prepare only low-risk foods such as coffee in open areas, and keep food under covers, behind protective guards or in enclosed cabinets and fridges. One tip is for an open-front business in particular: keep servery openings small, with a way to open and close them.
When the plan needs a professional
FSANZ’s advice is plain: if a business cannot manage pests properly, it should call in professional help. Queensland Health’s guide goes further and strongly recommends regular treatment by a professional pest control operator, because they are skilled in applying pesticides safely in food premises. In Victoria, it is an offence to use pesticides for commercial gain without a Victorian pest control licence, and the next check covers how to confirm one.