One of the most dreadful matters that can happen to restaurant owners is to get shut down due to food safety. It’s one of the situations that can tarnish their reputation. Even if the restaurant manages to bounce back, it will be a long and challenging road before they can restore their reputation fully. 

If you’re a restaurant owner or a retailer that provides food, it’s vital to ensure that your food is safe. Aside from getting your ingredients from reliable suppliers and guaranteeing proper food prep, you must also be mindful of food pests that can wreak havoc to your dishes. 

The four most common food pests are rats, mice, birds, and insects. These are pests that like to be anywhere the food is, and they are the “brave souls” that take shelter in and under food stock, making supermarkets and restaurants their homes. 

How They Become A Food Safety Hazard

Their presence alone in the establishment is already a cause for alarm, especially for health and safety officers. When any of these pests gain access to the store or restaurant, they have likely found a comfortable place to live in. On the other hand, it is also possible that they already have a home nearby and you only saw them because they’re out scavenging for food. 

Keep in mind that pests can get through sealed food packaging and contaminate them. After all, who knows where these pests have gone and ingested? They can spread diseases through droppings, fur, feet, saliva, and urine. Moreover, it’s likely that they are carrying harmful bacteria, such as E.coli and salmonella. 

With all of these elements, when there are food pests in your establishment, your health, and that of your employees and customers, are at risk. 

How Pests Can Contaminate Food

Know that mites, moths, and beetles can easily find a way to get into stored produce by creating small holes that are almost invisible to the naked eye. Despite the small openings, these pests have the powerful ability to contaminate huge amounts of products, which will lead to infected food that can have a negative impact on your establishment. 

Another big annoyance is ants. They can infest cupboards, shelves, and also get into food packaging. They typically live in cracks within bricks in the walls, under sheets of paper, ants they are some of the most difficult pests to get rid of. 

Cockroaches, on the other hand, can eat anything—they don’t have a preference. However, what makes them dangerous is that they only appear during the night when everybody’s out. Yet, they’re not clever enough to clear their tracks, which is why you can spot a cockroach infestation through skin casts, egg cases, and droppings. 

Rats and mice are the most dangerous, and they can be difficult to kill because many people are afraid of them. However, they can cause significant damage not only to your food but also to your building’s structure. 

Conclusion

Even if you haven’t seen signs of pest infestation in your establishment, it’s an excellent idea to contact a pest control company to check for signs of pests regularly. That way, you can address the issue right away. On the other hand, if you suspect you have a pest infestation, don’t put it off for too long and call reliable experts before the situation gets worse. 

For reliable pest control in Sydney, NSW, the experts at Clean & Green Pest Managers have got you covered. We treat and eliminate all common pests around the workplace with our environmentally friendly approach that upholds the sustainability of ecosystems through management, not obliteration. Get in touch with us today to request a quote!