When is fumigation needed?
We received a lot of almonds was infested with grain beetles. My immediate response to the nonconforming item was to quarantine and fumigate on-site asap. After speaking with my management team, the decision was made to continue using the material without fumigation. The reasoning being the raw material will be sent to our fryer running at 300 F and soaked for 9 minutes in oil. Prior to going in oil we have a shaker that helps filter small bits where the bugs can be removed, not all but some bugs.
It is common knowledge the FDA allows a tolerance of how many bugs can be in your food. My research brought me to the Food Defect Levels Handbook by the FDA stating high than 5% of shelled almonds is considered rejected. Link below. I do not think we are at that level of 5%.
https://www.fda.gov/...levels-handbook
What is the limit where fumigation is necessary? Is running the fryer an acceptable step for eradication? We are FSSC certified with the standard for PRP eradication below:
ISO/TS 22002-1:2009 (E)
12.6 Eradication
Eradication measures shall be put in place immediately after evidence of infestation is reported
Pesticide use and application shall be restricted to trained operatives and shall be controlled to avoid product safety hazards.
Records of pesticide use shall be maintained to show the type, quantity and concentrations used, where, when and how applied, and the target pests.
Always appreciate the input IFSQN team!
costly afair and supply issue as well. Then after discussion with our quality director, we quarantined this load in the cooler so that all the beetles are dead and then passed through
the shaker to remove the dead beetles and small foreign particles. once all this process followed then these were issued to production.
Is there a risk to other products in your facility? They can spread fast.
Yes, small risk of contamination during processing since products are exposed. We ended up cleaning multiple times throughout the day to reduce exposure.