How controlled is your external garbage?

If not managed properly, external garbage bins can both attract pests into your food business and become a pest harbourage. In week 11 of the Food Safety HACCP Challenge you are required to check that lids on external garbage bins are closed and waste is contained.

How to do this Challenge

Step 1: Physically check the condition of your external garbage bins. Check to see that lids are in place and there is no overflow of waste.

Step 2: Take action on your findings if needed.

Step 3: Take the opportunity to review the service contact to determine the current frequency of removal.

Tip: Check that the external garbage bins are documented for inspection on your GMP audits or internal audits.

Likely Outcomes

From my experience, the likely outcome of this check is one of the following:

(1) Your external garbage bins are fine and well controlled.

(2) There is a lid on the external garbage bin but it is left open and not closed as required.

(3) Waste is overflowing from the external garbage bin and making a mess everywhere. You see pests including birds enjoying the spoils of your external garbage.

Impacts of uncontrolled external garbage

Here are a few of the impacts that uncontrolled external garbage can have on your food business:

Public health threat through the spread of disease
Attracts pests into your food business
Environmental impact on surrounding areas when garbage from your food site ends up in local rivers, streams, open spaces.
The accumulation of garbage can be a real eyesore – is that impression you want to make to your customers?
Be penalised in an external audit by receiving a Corrective Action Request (CAR) on waste control.

Were your external garbage bins controlled?

If you found during your inspection that the external garbage bins were not able to contain your waste it might be because of one of the following reasons:

The lid on the garbage bin is broken
The frequency of waste removal from your food business site is not sufficient.
Staff are not closing the external garbage bin lids as required.

Whatever your result, complete a root cause analysis to help identify the reason for non-compliance. You will then be in a better position to implement the most relevant corrective and preventative action.

Let me know how you went with this #FSHChallenge by leaving a comment below.