Organic Food Production
Pest activity can jeopardize any food production but organic production inherently has limited remedies to address and eliminate that activity, that's why prevention is imperative.
An effective pest management program in any facility requires three basic components, but is more critical in organic production:
1) Knowledgeable, well-trained pest management personnel. The key to a successful pest management plan is unequivocally the person who inspects the facility, manages any pest activity, and corrects any conditions which lead to pest activity.
2) The Pest Tech needs tools to be effective in their effort. They need a comprehensive management system with capabilities to:
a) record observations and analyze inspections to help identify trends and the origin of any pest activity
b) warn if conditions or activity are abnormal
c) assist in reporting and correcting environmental deficiencies which are conducive to pest activity
d) a reporting system which provides all the needed audit/regulatory documentation
3) The full support and cooperation of the facility's management personnel, without this their effort will be doomed to at best mediocre success.
The U-Trap-It System is the system used to help protect more than 70% of the food produced in the U.S. from pest/rodent activity and from the diseases they carry.
Why is U-Trap-It so widely used? Simply put, there is no other system like the U-Trap-It System and the results of using the System clearly show the difference. In traditional production facilities (non-organic) the System has helped users achieve a significantly higher level of protection from pest activity while requiring up to 80% less pesticide to achieve that higher level of protection. These facilities had previously used either punch cards with Excel or other systems which were intended for residential pest management.
If the System can achieve that level of management in traditional production facilities then it clearly is superbly suited for organic production.
Intelligent Pest Prevention
The Food Safety Modernization Act requires pest management in food processing to shift from a responsive mode to one that is focused on prevention. Preventive principles are not new to pest management. They are the same principles we have used for years with Integrated Pest Management and also with the next higher management level - Intelligent Pest Prevention.
The benefits of using a preventative approach are enormous for food safety and that is the reason why the FDA has made these changes. The three primary end-result benefits are 1) less occurrences, or even chances of occurrences, of pest activity, 2) less pesticide use required in the food processing environment, and 3) a properly maintained and secure facility. This results in a safer, higher quality product being produced in a cleaner production environment.
Why hasn't everyone always used these principles? The answer is simply the high cost for those who attempt to provide preventative practices when using a system that does not have the capabilities to administer them. There is also a quandary over how service providers are currently compensated versus how to compensate them when they use a "preventive approach". Today many providers say they are using preventive controls because that's what the customer wants to hear.
The U-Trap-It System has all the needed capabilities to comply with FSMA and HARPC. More than twenty years ago In-Quiz-It Software saw the benefits and provided capabilities in the U-Trap-It System to conduct pest management services in a proactive (preventative) manner. Since then it has been a focal point in further development of the U-Trap-It System and also in the development of additional management tools we provide such as Assessment Pro*.
The U-Trap-It System provides a solid, methodical approach to service a facility. It enables comprehensive data collection of pest inspections and of environmental monitoring. The System even analyzes the inspections and can provide a warning of issues that are developing. Should issues be found, the U-Trap-It System management tools help the user correct the deficiency, eliminate any pest activity, and stop it's reoccurrence. The System also produces an array of documentation, including many types of trending graphs, to satisfy both regulators' and auditors' needs. When using the U-Trap-It System the facility will be audit ready 24/7.
Users report that they use 80% less pesticides after deploying the U-Trap-It System in their facilities.
They also report that they find it easier to prevent and eliminate pest activity because of the intelligence provided by the System.
Audit Documentation
The legal environment is driving the need to maintain quality, detailed pest management documentation for a much longer period. Today a legal challenge can take many years to reach the court. In most cases, the technician who performed your pest services may no longer be available or you may have to rely on their recollection of what transpired if their efforts were poorly documented. Having quality, detailed records from a system designed for industrial pest management will certainly help a positive outcome. Are you jeopardizing your company's reputation and financial status on the use of a pest management system intended to manage residential pest services?
Having trouble with your audits?
The U-Trap-It System is the only system designed specifically for industrial pest management. The documents the U-Trap-It System produces meet or exceed audit requirements. And, with the U-Trap-It System you will be Audit Ready 24/7. The system provides documentation to comply with FSMA, HARPC, HAACP, and all food processing audit schemes. In fact, we get calls of thanks and we hear sighs of relief from many new customers who were doing a good job of servicing before they used the U-Trap-It System but were receiving poor "grades" for simply failing to provide the necessary documentation.
Audits are important but that's not what it's all about...
While the U-Trap-It System provides excellent reports and graphs including required trending reports to help document your program for audit and regulatory needs, it helps the user accomplish so much more. The primary goal of a pest management system is not to satisfy audit or regulatory documentation needs. Its to help the user stop pest activity. The U-Trap-It System provides analytical tools such as visually dynamic data-driven floor plans and HotSpot* Technology (spatial analysis) to help the user proactively prevent activity, to identify any increasing activity, and to quickly eliminate existing pest activity. No other system focuses on industrial pest management as does the U-Trap-It System.
