5 tips for bird management in food processing

Tim Coughlin, National Account Manager, Bird-X

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is putting greater emphasis on bird management in all phases of food processing. A single bird flying in a processing plant can cause an audit failure — causing you to potentially lose the account. To combat this scenario, check out these five tips:

1. Include bird control in your regular training sessions. Start with biology, life patterns and a basic understanding of solutions.
2. Report live birds and evidence of birds on every service report. Discuss your findings with your clients.
3. Remind service technicians to look up during inspections. They also should observe birds in the areas surrounding the client’s location.
4. Make it a team effort. Don’t forget about the training, referrals and consultation that industry suppliers and manufacturers can provide.
5. Never tell a client you cannot help them. If your company does not offer bird control, find a local company to which you can refer your client.