Pest Control and Premises Design
What this domain tests
This domain tests how premises design and pest management prevent contamination. The exam expects you to recognise pest evidence, identify design faults, and choose prevention over reaction.
Pest signs and controls
Signs: droppings, gnaw marks, grease smears, live/dead insects, flies, webs, feathers, nesting material, unusual smells, and damaged packaging. Prevention is proofing: close gaps, fit bristle strips and door guards, repair drains, cover vents with insect mesh, keep external doors closed, and maintain refuse areas. Rodent bait stations go outside, secured and mapped; never in food rooms where bait could contaminate food.
Premises design
Food rooms need smooth, impervious, washable surfaces; coved junctions; adequate lighting; ventilation that removes steam and grease; drainage with trapped gullies and covers; and separate handwash basins with soap and towels. Layout should move food in one direction - delivery, storage, preparation, cooking, service - with raw and RTE separated where possible. Toilets must not open directly into food rooms.
Worked example
A store manager finds mouse droppings behind a pallet of flour and a gnawed bag. The correct response: isolate and discard affected food, clean and disinfect the area, call the pest contractor, seal the entry point, and review stock rotation and inspection. Poison should not be placed in the food store; use external bait stations and traps appropriate to the area. Record the finding and action.
Traps
- Putting rodenticide in a dry store.
- Blocking drains or removing drain covers, which creates pest access and contamination.
- Treating one fly as trivial; flies transfer bacteria from waste to food.
- Designing a kitchen with carpet, bare wood or unsealed joints.
- Ignoring proofing because a contractor visits monthly.