RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Warehouse Must Deal with Insect and Rodent Infestation

A New Hope, MN food warehouse was infested with rodents, insects and birds in July, according to a warning letter issued this month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA ordered the company, New Wha Ming Trading of MN, Inc. to correct violations within 15 days or explain why it needs more time.

During five visits in July, inspectors noticed live and dead rodents, including several in traps; droppings in 17 locations on food and elsewhere; nesting material and gnawed containers.

Bags of food were stained with urine. There were bird droppings on cans of condensed milk. Insects were found on bags and on a dead rodent.

Owner Weizhen Lin said Wednesday he had not received the FDA letter but the company is "working on the issues."

George Williams,
General Manager

Pest Control, MA ,  Pest Control, RI

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The correct terminology is larva or larvae. For all intents & purposes they are MAGGOTS! I happen to snap this picture of something that happens in every city & town and that is flies. What you are looking at is about 2,000 maggots in some stagnant water in a garbage can cover. In about 5-7 days these 2,000 maggots will be 2,000 flies. Those flies will continue to reproduce in alarming volumes and at a very fast pace. In fact that 2,000 flies if uncontrolled & they survive can easily be 100,000 in just 30 days!!!

Most people see a roach or rodent in a restaurant, their business, or their home and they freak out and need something done immediately. It is the fly that should cause this type of reaction in people yet all we do is swat at them & do not give them a 2nd thought. We even joke about them….

Waiter, there is a fly in my soup!
What’s he doing?
I believe it is the backstroke.

Flies are one of the most disgusting insects on the planet and they are capable of transmitting so many diseases through the bacteria they contact. Next time you see a fly take it VERY seriously!

A week or so ago, Abbott Laboratories recalled its powdered form of Similac because of the presence of small beetles in the baby formula. I don’t blame Abbott from recalling the product. It was necessary, if not from a health standpoint, at the very least for a public relations position.

That being said, we Americans unintentionally consume over a pound of insects each year, possibly as much as two pounds. Insects are so prevalent in our food supply that the Food and Drug Administration has pretty much given up on trying to exclude them completely from our diet. Guidelines by the FDA allow various amounts of insects (and insect parts) in our food because it would be next to impossible to keep them out. However, once these limits are exceeded, the FDA will respond and take legal action.

It may well be that in the not-too-distant future, insects may become part of the American diet.