Apr 25, 2012 – SQF Inspection
QUESTION:
We are getting ready for our 1st SQF 2000 audit and they require all our doors be fly-proof. So, we have self closing doors that have a tight seal. Do you think we will be required to have air curtains on all our external doors? Thank you for your time.
ANSWER:
That is a good question Duane, and hopefully one that the inspectors will handle realistically and without some punishment for not having it done in advance. I was not familiar with the Safe Quality Food 2000 process, but thank goodness for the internet, where I found quite a bit of information available. However, in roaming through the various websites and documents I did not come across anything that got specific on any kind of pest or specific steps to be taken for any pests. This will likely boil down to the perceptions of the auditors and whether or not they are satisfied that you have taken appropriate steps to prevent flies from entering.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
We are getting ready for our 1st SQF 2000 audit and they require all our doors be fly-proof. So, we have self closing doors that have a tight seal. Do you think we will be required to have air curtains on all our external doors? Thank you for your time.
ANSWER:
That is a good question Duane, and hopefully one that the inspectors will handle realistically and without some punishment for not having it done in advance. I was not familiar with the Safe Quality Food 2000 process, but thank goodness for the internet, where I found quite a bit of information available. However, in roaming through the various websites and documents I did not come across anything that got specific on any kind of pest or specific steps to be taken for any pests. This will likely boil down to the perceptions of the auditors and whether or not they are satisfied that you have taken appropriate steps to prevent flies from entering.
I don't know if you are a food manufacturer, distributor, or retail center, and this could be a factor in whether air doors are appropriate for your facility. Obviously a grocery store with air doors over each entry way would tend to annoy their customers each time a hairdo got blown around. But, for distribution warehouses or manufacturing where the end customers are not entering and leaving all the time you could take more dramatic steps in fly prevention. The words "fly proof" also are subject to interpretation, and if the auditors for some reason believe you should be able to exclude every last fly it would not be realistic. Instead, installing plastic curtains where vehicles may enter or leave (forklifts), pyrethrum misting aerosols within entryways, and air doors in some other low doorways may be useful. At a national seminar on fly management some years ago it was suggested that filth flies like The House Fly tend to enter buildings at a very low level, even below 3 or 4 feet off the ground or floor. Thus, placing air doors at that level and directed correctly to blow the flies OUT, not in, was more successful than having the devices overhead, where the air flow was diminished substantially by the time it got down to the level of the flies.
Hopefully your fly control program also moves to the exterior of your buildings, where you can mitigate the fly problems with good waste disposal, good sanitation around the property, and the use of fly traps and fly baits where needed. The use of UV light traps on the interior, particularly near entryways, may also help to capture the rogue fly that does manage to get through the door. But, I suppose I would suggest holding off on the installation of air doors over all doors until the auditors offer their opinions. They may believe you already are doing what is necessary to prevent flies from getting in, and with any luck they will actually be knowledgeable on the topic of pests and pest management, since the SQF addresses far more than just this small part of food safety.
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