Feature where we've been | PPC89 November 2017

As you would have read in the last edition, we are now in a great position to tell everyone about the high standards that our membership is assessed against, and what it means to be a BPCA member.

Natalie and Dee have been out and about talking to as many specifiers as possible. We thought it was worth telling you about one of our most recent events.

We were approached by BRC and asked if we would like to do a workshop for their food retailers, this came about due to concerns over the increases in rodent activity and growing concerns over behavioural resistance in some of the larger cities.

Food retailers want to make sure they get it right as ensuring pest-free sites is their top priority when it comes to food safety.

Many food retailers have an excellent knowledge of pest control, but they expressed a need for some additional information and guidance. They were also interested in hearing about the specific challenges that our members have and to see if there were any regional differences BRC Global Standards is a market-leading international brand that helps build confidence in the supply chain and the standards for food, packaging, storage and distribution, retail and consumer products. It sets the benchmark for good manufacturing practice and helps provide assurance to customers that your products are safe, legal and of high quality.

Our readers will most likely also have had first-hand experience of the standard that will apply to many of their contracted sites, ensuring that the pest control requirements are satisfied and your customer passes the BRC audit with flying colours!

BPCA works hard at keeping good lines of communication open with key specifiers so that we can not only be of assistance but also, that we can help auditors and your end-user customers understand the challenges you face.

So, on 18 September, Dee and Natalie went to present to a group of BRC food retailer members. The aim of the day was for BPCA to outline the importance of pest control and then hold an open discussion and debate on how pest control is dealt with by both the end users and the professional pest control organisation.

The main aim here was to highlight the real importance of the relationship between the contractor (pest controller) and the end user. Natalie and Dee spoke about the importance of employing a
BPCA member and the pitfalls of employing a non-professional, we also had an opportunity to talk about EN16636 and CEPA certification and the benefit that this brings to our industry and the
retailers, who now have a benchmark standard to look for when choosing a pest management company.

BRC also invited three BPCA member companies – these companies were regional specific, as the members had a particular interest in regional differences. The companies that volunteered to represent BPCA on the day were Beaver Pest Control (David Lodge) to represent the South, CSS Pest Services (Jason Cholerton) to represent the Midlands and Elite Pest Management (Mick Kilburn) to stand in for the North.

All three had an opportunity to express what they felt held the most importance for ensuring effective pest management in their region. At the end of the session all delegates thought that they had received valuable insight into the challenges faced by pest controllers, and that the relationship between contractor and end user needs to be strong with good lines of communication. Without this, pest problems can easily become a real big issue.

It is critical that we all work together as an Association, getting BPCA’s message out there should be at the top of our agenda. We need to be proud of the high standards we meet and the benefits of choosing a BPCA member.

The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology

Bright and early on Tuesday 26 September, Lauren and Natalie travelled to Doncaster Racecourse for the SOFHT “Food Fraud, Culture and Modern Catering Processes Conference” to talk to delegates about the importance of using a BPCA member.

We spoke to EHOs, trainers, local authorities and catering companies who were all in attendance. We managed to spread the message further about the importance of professionalism within the industry.

We took along our new ‘Be protected. Professionally’ flyers to show what being a BPCA member means and what criteria our servicing members have met in order to display the logo.

WHERE SHOULD WE GO?

Know of an event we should attend?
events@bpca.org.uk

Dee Ward-Thompson
Technical Manager

16 November 2017  |  PPC89

Source: PPC89