English
GETTING THE PESTS OUT ORGANICALLY IN BRAZIL
INSIGHT
A global Food & Beverage customer in Brazil was seeking organic certification for a new line of snack foods. Ecolab Pest Elimination had worked with the company for many years, administering pesticides three times a week. To produce organic snacks, the company needed to adjust its processes and find a solution that met organic certification requirements.The existing pest treatment process required a 12-hour halt in production after each application for evaporation of the water used in the solution and a thorough cleaning. The plant saw opportunities to improve not only its offerings, but also its operational efficiency and profitability. The new solution accomplished all three and led to a 30 percent increase in profitability.
INNOVATION
An on-site service specialist from Ecolab
Pest Elimination inspected the plant and
recommended structural improvements
and hygiene solutions.
Inside the facility, Ecolab:
- Increased inspections and the number of pheromone and floor glue board traps. This led to faster identification and capture of insects that had gotten into the plant.
- Switched to organic products. These included neem oil, a naturally occurring pesticide found in neem tree seeds, and diatomaceous earth, a fine powder made from tiny fossilized algae-like plants.
Ecolab also introduced the Global Large
Fly Program. It uses an innovative outside in approach, focused on finding the root
cause of large fly activity and solving issues
before flies reach the interior, reducing the
food safety risks associated with large flies.
The key element is the Stealth™ Fly Station,
a reflective device that attracts flies before
they can enter a facility.
The customer received organic certification
for the new product line. Plus, without
the required downtime after pesticide
applications, the facility gained one day
of production per month (24 hours),
a productivity increase of 3.3 percent.
