III.

ESTABLISHMENT – MAINTENANCE & SANITATION

1. Purpose
In Warehouse maintenance of facility play equivalent role as adopting right sanitation
practices. The main purpose of sanitation in warehouse shall be to create environment that
will discourage pests/insects harbourage and growth. Only deployment of pest management
program will not be sufficient to control pests and insects in the mills, pest management
shall be strongly supported by robust maintenance, cleaning and sanitation programs.

2. Sanitation strategies
Warehouse shall adopt adequate strategies inclusive of but not limited to:

 Clean exterior grain handling areas and equipments

 Clean processing areas and equipments

Entire warehouse facility shall be periodically inspected and cleaned to avoid development
of dust, unintended debris built up in difficult to access areas.

Sanitation Methods: Warehouse shall adopt dry cleaning methods and avoid introduction of
water.

Common practices are

 Brooming/sweeping
 Dry wiping
 Vacuum Cleaning

3. Factory disinfestation
Warehouse must be disinfested with approved agents or thermally at periodic intervals. This
is different from grain fumigation. The objective is to reduce infestation load in the
manufacturing facility to negligible level.

Pesticides application within warehouses may involve fumigation, space treatment and the
application of residual sprays. When considering using pesticides in the food warehouse, the
approved list of pesticides given by Central Insecticide Board must be selected. Refer
pesticide labels for detail information regarding the correct use of pesticides. Pesticide
application should always be done by licensed and trained PCOs by using appropriate
personnel protective equipment. Pesticides should not contaminate foods stored in the
warehouse.

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4. Fumigation
There are only two fumigants registered in India, namely phosphine and methyl bromide.
Both are classified as restricted pesticides due to extremely toxic nature. Fumigants are
gases quickly disperse to reach the target organism. Fumigants used are broad spectrum
insecticide and kill all living creatures in enclosed area. No protective residues are left
behind (if used properly), unlike liquid and solid pesticides.

Methyl bromide is an ozone depleting gas, its use is legally restricted only for quarantine
and pre-shipment fumigation purposes in India and governed by Directorate of Plant
Protection, Quarantine and Storage which authorizes and issues licenses to fumigators. It is
very important for exporters/warehouse owners to select a pest management company
carefully. They must ensure that company has all the valid govt. licenses and approvals. The
company must also have experience, well qualified and trained personnel and the
knowledge of Indian fumigation standards, quarantine procedures also the guidelines &
procedures laid down by the European, Australian, American plant protection and
quarantine authorities to carry out these extremely dangerous services.

The most effective method to ensure food safety against pests is fumigation with phosphine
(PH3) gas. Phosphine fumigation is preferred because of leaving little amount of residuals
and ease of application. 650 ppm phosphine gas concentration of the storage atmosphere in
the fumigation is determined as the optimum value for pest control.

As the phosphine gas is oxidized into the phosphoric acid with the existence of light, it is
more suitable to make the fumigation applications in the evening. Besides, as phosphine gas
reaches high concentration (>%1.79) in the closed atmosphere, great attention is needed in
terms of job security. Phosphine application is extremely effective in the modified
atmosphere environment. All pests and even resistant flour lice are killed easily within 15
hours of phosphine application when the environment temperature is 40°C and the
atmosphere CO2 rate is over 70 % at a flour mill that is closed firmly and where
impermeability is provided.

 Fumigation with Phosphine

 Fumigators must remember that the exposure period is deemed to start from the
time that the fumigant is first found to be evenly distributed inside the
fumigation enclosure.
Phosphine must not be used:

 when there is no trained, qualified and properly protected fumigation

team
 in unsealed enclosures
 when the temperature is below 10°C
 where resistance to it is known to exist in an insect population
 where a rapid treatment is required, i.e. less than 7 days
 in immediatevicinity to workspaces and places where people live.

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  Before gassing an enclosure for fumigation, a warning placard with a warning
symbol must be displayed.
 Aluminium phosphide (ALP) products usually release 33% Phosphine from the
total weight of the product i.e. tablets weigh approximately 3 grams and release 1
gram of phosphine gas and pellets weigh approximately 0.6 grams and release 0.2
grams of phosphine gas.
 The generation of phosphine generated from ALP formulations may be delayed by
about 15 minutes after they are exposed to air. In hot, humid conditions,
phosphine is produced almost immediately on exposure to the air, so the
dispensing process must be completed within 15 minutes.
 ALP Formulation Dose: (a) Tablets: keep @ 10 tablets (10tablets X3 grams = 30
grams) in a cloth bag (or) (b) Sachets: 34 grams sachet.
 Fumigation period – at least 7 Days for the control of all live stages
 Target Phosphine concentrations more than 700 ppm for 7 days for grains in flat
storage
 Increasing the dosage above the rate(s) recommended on the label will not
compensate for poor gas-tightness.
 Post Fumigation Protection of Fumigated stacks: Prophylactic spray with approved
agents like Deltamethrin 2.5%WP as per recommended dose on all sides of the
stack.

5. Warehouse cleaning and hygiene

 During storage, the food grains, and other agricultural commodities are deteriorated by
physical and biological factors. These factors include moisture, temperature, insects, birds
and storage fungi. Losses by these factors may be reduced to a minimum level by
maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in the warehouses. The following steps should be taken
to ensure cleanliness and hygiene in the godowns/warehouses:
 The floor space in the godowns/warehouses should be cleaned regularly, preferably
daily.
 The stacks (foodgrains bags) should be brushed at weekly intervals and after every
fumigation
 Cleanliness should be maintained in entire warehousing complex.
 The sweepings including dead insects after spraying of insecticides and Fumigation
should not be left in godowns/warehouses and should be immediately removed.
 The waste material and dead stock items including used old gunny bags, wooden crates,
polythene sheets etc. should not be stored in warehouse. These should be stored in
separate rooms.
 Spilled grain should be immediately collected, sieved and filled in grain bags(palla bags).
 Timely prophylactic and curative treatments (spraying of chemicals and fumigation for
insect/pest control) should be carried out in the warehouses. Similarly, rodent control
operations in and around warehouses should also be carried out as and when required
and dead rats should be collected and buried in the earth.
 Measures to check birds’ entry in the warehouses should be carried out and these
should not be allowed to contaminate the grain and other commodities with their
excreta and dead birds.
 Warehouses can be made bird proof by fixing wire meshes on windows, ventilators and
other possible entries. Polythene strips or nylon curtains may be used on doors of
godowns / warehouses to check the entry of birds.

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  Proper and timely aeration which reduces the grain temperature and moisture and also
eliminates the psocids infestation should be carried.
 Warehouse official shall insure that vegetative growth, if any, is removed at periodical
intervals to keep the premises free from birds, reptiles, rat burrows etc.
 Warehouse shall ensure that there are adequate light arrangements in the warehouse.
 Warehouseman shall ensure that all the pipes/ducts entering the warehouse are fixed
with wire mesh properly to check the entry of rats.
 All the roofs of the warehouses should be painted with waterproof material and should
be leak proof.
 Cracks and crevices should get repaired periodically. A location wise register about the
cleanliness and hygiene in the warehouse should be maintained along with a written
schedule.
 If during periodic inspection of goods in storage, it is observed that these have been
damaged or deteriorated either due to packaging failure, infestation , moisture absorption
or due to natural calamity like fire, flood, excessive rain, etc, these shall be handled as
under:
 Segregate the damaged goods and determine possibility of salvaging. In case it is
possible to salvage, carryout the same under intimation to HO and insurance company,
as applicable
 Salvaged goods shall be tested separately for suitability before acceptance. Similarly,
damaged goods shall be tested before declaring non recoverable damaged. Records of
such testing shall be maintained.
 Salvaged goods shall be kept in separate stacks with proper identification in the “Stack
Card” clearly indicating the parent stack(s) details.
 Damaged goods shall be kept separately to prevent mix up with acceptable goods. All
damaged goods shall be stacked and marked “NOT FOR ISSUE”.
 There shall also be identification of goods description and quantity on each such stack.
Warehouse shall maintain record of “Damaged Goods Records”.
 If the damaged goods requires immediate disposal, dispose-off the same as per
company guidelines.

6. Common pests & control plan

Several categories of pests may be found in warehouses, but the common types of
warehouse pest control services can be grouped into three: birds, insects and rodents.
Insect pests are a whole range and may include weevils, several kinds of beetles and moths.
Rodents, especially rats, are also a major concern in many production establishments and
storage warehouses –In food processing areas and warehouses, that could spell disaster
owing to contamination and causing very serious health concerns. Birds which may make
their nests in factories and warehouses. Their droppings cause huge sanitation problems.

Basic steps for insect control In order to control insects in a storage warehouse or processing
plants the following steps must be followed:

 Monitoring : Have an inspection or surveillance programme which will yield prompt

awareness of a possible problem (presence, level, source) before it occurs
 Identification : Determine the extent and nature of the possible problem (species,
type, level, means of transmission)

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  Control: Devise a plan for controlling the problem (integration of all possible means
to achieve good, cheap and safe pest control)

Grain and grain products in flour mills are at risk of being contaminated by foreign material,
insects, microbes and vertebrate pests. There are three types of pests that affect milling
process and product quality. Besides structural and exterior pests (such as cockroaches,
ants, rodents, birds and exterior flying insects), the type of pests that are most critical to
flour mills are stored product arthropods (internal and external feeder insects and mites)
found within the commodity (grain and flour). Good engineering for food safety and
sanitation are first and most important considerations while setting up a flour mill to avoid
these pests

As an important risk element, bird residues and faeces are known as the main
contamination source for salmonella bacteria’s contamination to the flour which can cause
serious food poisonings, because of their numbers and breeding speed insects and mites
constitute the most important pest group that gives damages to the grains and threatens
the flour safety.

The rats that threaten the flour safety are split into three groups as Rattus norveginucus
(Norway rat, brown rat), Rattus rattus (roof or ship rat, black rat) and Mus musculus (home
rat); birds are defined as local bird species living in the business area.

Pests such as Sitophilus granaries L. (weevil), S. oryzae L. (rice louse), S. zeamais (corn
borer), Trogoderma granarium (Khapra beetle), Rhizopertha dominica F. (crop hump
beetle), Tribolium confusum and T. castaneum (half-blood lice), Ptinus fur L. (white-spotted
spider mite), Nemapogon granellus L. (crop warehouse moth), Ephestia kuehniella (mill
moth), Acarus siro L. (flour mite) are the common insect and mite species that create
important risks on flour safety.

Stored grain and flour are subject to insect infestations and deterioration from molds and
bacteria. High grain temperature and moisture, along with dockage and broken kernels and
even milled flour, provide conditions that accelerate mold and insect development.

Some insects damage grain by developing inside kernels, feeding on the inner endosperm
and producing holes in the kernel through which the adult insect exist. These insects are
called “internal feeders”. The cycle is repeated when the female lays eggs inside the kernels.
Examples of internal feeders are maize weevil, rice weevil, granary weevil, lesser grain
borer, and Angoumois moth. The grain (maize, rice, granary) weevils are small recognizable
as a group because the head projects forward as a prolonged snout. The adult’s lesser grain
borer head projects downward, not forward, and does not bear a snout. The Angoumois
grain moth lays its eggs on grain kernels and the larvae bore into the kernels and feed there.

Other insect species that do not develop within the kernels, although they may hide inside
cracked grain, making detection very difficult are flat grain beetle, rusty grain beetle, and
the foreign grain beetle. They primarily feed on mold. Other species such as the saw-
toothed grain beetle, the red and confused flour beetles, the Indian meal moth, and the
larger black flour beetle feed on damaged grain or fines.

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Stored product insects are one of two types – invaders and penetrators. The invaders, like
red flour beetle, confused flour beetle, saw-toothed grain beetle, Indian meal moth, and
almond moth look for opportunities to get inside food containers by searching for cracks,
crevices and holes. The penetrators like the lesser grain borer, cigarette beetle, warehouse
beetle, and rice moth chew holes even into multi-layered packages.

Prevention of infestation

Stored grain:
Stored grain management is the organised, long-term approach to maintaining the quality,
minimizing chemical control inputs, and preserving the integrity of the grain storage system.
Techniques can be integrated into grain storage systems to prevent or minimise losses from
insect and mold infestations. These management techniques must focus on the factors that
regulate storability, including grain temperature, grain moisture, storage air relative
humidity and storage time.
Most insect and mold activity is greatly reduced at grain temperatures below 15ᶿC. Planned
temperature reductions by controlled aeration can significantly reduce insect population.
Mold populations follow similar temperature control patterns. Aeration is the forced
movement of air through grain to lower or equalise grain temperatures.
Higher levels of grain moisture increase the potential for high populations of stored-grain
insects and molds. To achieve safe storage moisture contents, force heat or natural air
drying of some crops is necessary.

Pest control plan

 There should be pest management practices in place to prevent the harbourage and
breeding of pests on the grounds and within the warehouse facility. No pets including
birds and animals are to be kept within or around the warehouse premises.
 Pest Control must be designed as a comprehensive system at food manufacturing
facilities. This must include,
 Insect light traps with catch-pan: should not be above 6 feet height from the
floor and not be directly visible from outside– tubes must be changed at defined
intervals basis specified hours of operation
 Rodent Control: Roda-boxes must be placed at both sides (externally place
rodent boxes with bait must be fixed and always be locked all entry points
 All pest control devices must have serial number and a master lay-out depicting
its position
 All windows and exhaust duct/openings in the facility must have at least 600
micron mesh covering to avoid pest entry and all doors and shutters must have
strip/air-curtains with outer stream of air flow.

S.N Treatment RecommendedFreque Area Against

o name ncy
1 Integrated Fly Daily thrice In & Around House Flies
Management Building, Entry
(IFM) Points(Doors &

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 Shutters) & Breeding
Grounds
2 Disinfestation Weekly In & Around House Flies,
(HPM) Building, Entry Cockroaches, Silver
Points(Doors & fish, Ants and Bed
Shutters) & Breeding Bugs
Grounds
3 Rodent Daily Check & 15days First Line of Control Rodents
Management Change
Daily Check & 15days Second & Third Line Rats, Mice &
Change of Control Bandicots
4 Prophylactic Monthly (Nov - Feb) Insect Hiding Places Crawling Insects
Treatment Fortnightly (Mar - Oct)
5 Lizard Weekly Outside Plant Area Lizards
Management
6 Cockroach Monthly Cracks & Cervices Cockroaches
Management
7 Pest O Flash Daily Cleaning (4 nos) FG Godown, Bran Flying Insects
Collection,
Coding Room,
Packing Room
8 Fumigation 45 days (As and When Grain Store Grain Pest
required)
45 days (As and When Grain, All equipment Store Grain Pest
required)

Following documents must be available on site

 Pest control plan- lay out, pest control devices, treatment details
 License copy of pest control service provider
 Labels of pesticides used
 MSDS of pesticides used
 ID proof copy of PCO ( Pest control operator) representative on site and his liability
insurance certificate as well as his training/qualification certificate
 If pesticides are stored on site- a dedicated access controlled area must be available
to store pesticides
 Pest sighting log

Building design and Pest proofing

Pest proofing means preventing pests from entering the warehouse. It provides the best
long term solution and reduces the need for repeated chemical control.

Exterior area: Many pest problems originate outside the food plant and can be effectively
managed by eliminating conditions around the structure which allows the pest to find
harbourage. Exterior pest proofing techniques involves:

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Entrance and Exit doors – automatic door closing mechanism must be used. Metal doors
instead of wood are preferred as wood is susceptible to weathering and gnawing by
rodents. Screen doors should be fitted. Air curtains or plastic stripes should be installed to
prevent entry or movement of flying incoming pests.

Windows – should be properly designed and fitted with a mesh.

Foundation – all openings greater than ¼ inch should be sealed to prevent rodents.

Drains and Vents – These provide convenient entry points for insects as well as rodents and
hence must be adequately screened and cleaned.

Utility lines – Plumbing pipes, electrical conduits etc, all serve as convenient runways for
pest entry into the building as gaps are created wherever they enter the structure. These
gaps must be sealed.

Roofs – All openings in the roof must be tight fitting and properly sealed to prevent any
entry of pests.

Shipping and receiving docks – All exterior docks should be constructed with an overhang,
this act as a barrier against rodents.

Interior area: Proper building design and interior pest-proofing of a food warehouse
discourages proliferation of any pests that have already gained access in to the building.
Ceiling, wall and floor should be free of cracks.

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