Importance of Sanitation for Stored-Product Pest Management

Simple Summary The importance of sanitation in food storage areas is sometimes overlooked. However, sanitation is vitally important to ensure safe storage of food products. Without good sanitation, the stored commodities are more likely to become infested by mold, rodents, birds, and insect pests. This paper reviews the history of sanitation legislation, courses and conferences, and research on the costs, benefits and efficacy of sanitation that have led to current recommendations and regulations.Abstract Sanitation is essential for the cost-effective pest management of stored-product insects. The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 led to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tightening regulatory standards, and many local surveys, courses and conferences were organized to prepare the industry for these new regulations. Sanitation removes insects and residual food, which may also provide shelter for insects, with heat treatments and insecticide applications. The number of insects removed by cleaning may be reduced as the number of available hiding places increases. Decreased sanitation negatively affects the efficacy of most other pest management practices, with means of 1.3- to 17-fold decreases in efficacy. The majority of studies quantifying the efficacy of sanitation have been performed on the farm storage of grain, but some studies have been conducted for grain elevators, food processing, and the marketing system. Results ranged from no effect of sanitation alone to very effective alone or with other methods. Sanitation can also reduce insect infestation prior to harvest. Some cost-benefit analyses have been conducted for sanitation.