Freezing Technology

8.2.2.1 Health Hazards from Pests

Health hazards from pests:

• Effective pest control programme play a key role in overall sanitation of seafood processing factories.
• Insects, rodents and birds can easily enter the processing premises and contaminate the food
• Pest may be divided into 8 groups. Insects and other invertebrates, mammals and birds.
• Relatively few species are encountered in food plant.

Cockroaches	Flying insects	Rodents	Birds
They transfer microorganisms to food. Objectionable also due to their offensive smell.	Flies – good carriers of bacteria like Salmonella, Vibrio cholera etc.	Health risks from rodents – plague, salmonellosis, Jaundice etc.	They transmit microorganisms to foods through their droppings.

Identification and control measures of pests can be effected at following levels

• Proper plant design and operation
• Design and operation
• Destruction within the plant
• Proximity to a refuse dump increases chances of pests
• By proper design pests can be controlled
• Final line of defense is destruction

Best method of control

Cockroaches	Flying insects	Rodents	Birds
To eliminate habitat, Remove food sources, Keeping premises dry, Sealing of cracks and crevices and Application of insecticides	Removal of breeding habitat, Removal of garbage, Fly screens, Air curtains at entry, Electrocutors and insecticides	Avoid garbage, Avoid chances for entry, Use of traps and rodenticides	Repellents and physical barriers

e. Metal pieces	f. Filth	g. Decomposition of fishery products
From machines, From outside, Metal detectors – final solution	Those engaged in harvest,transport and processing to be are careful.	Enzymatic action, Oxidative changes, Due to bacteria
CCP	Packaging	Raw material, Receiving- monitoring needed