How Food Processing Managers Should Document Pest Management Activity

Part of helping maintain a pest-free food processing facility involves tracking your Integrated Pest Management (IPM) efforts. For managers, this means having the right documentation on hand to monitor trend data and determine whether changes to the program are necessary. While this documentation is helpful to reference on a day-to-day basis, it’s also especially helpful for third-party audits.

One part of keeping documentation audit-ready involves making note of pest activity at the facility and actions that were taken to help resolve it. A failure to have proper pest control records could result in a lower audit score, which could ultimately cause damage to your reputation.

Here are two important pieces of documentation you’ll want to have available for your auditor to demonstrate steps taken for your IPM plan:

Pest Sighting Log

For pest sightings at your facility site, cataloguing is key—every manager should maintain a pest sighting log. A suitable log will display details of all pest activity your staff has reported at your processing plant. All entries should specify each element of the occurrence such as date and time, pest type and any actions taken to avoid future recurrences. Here's one important thing to remember:When maintaining an audit-ready pest sighting log, remember it takes two. To give auditors an accurate picture of your pest management plan, each log entry should include matching documentation of corrective measures taken.

Detailed Service Reports

In addition to a complete pest sighting log, auditors will request detailed service reports from your pest management provider’s visits. These reports offer more robust information around pest activity findings. The report should include indications of pests and pest activity (like evidence of gnawing, shell casings, feces and nests), vulnerabilities at the site level (like cracks, crevices, water leaks) and explanations of corrective measures implemented. Last, the report should note whether the actions taken resolved the pest issues effectively.

While several factors can affect third-party audits, staying prepped is the best way to achieve the perfect score. Download Orkin’s comprehensive Documentation Checklist and take the guesswork out of third-party audit visits. For more specialized audit preparedness tips, head to myauditprep.com.