The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is hard at work monitoring our food supply so that we don't accidentally get a can of soup with a fly in it—which puts a new spin on the phrase, "Waiter, there is a fly in my soup." For this service, we are grateful. But the job they do is extremely difficult and the standards they have set in place may surprise you. It might seem as though the FDA doesn't care as much about keeping nasty things out of our foods as we do. Let's take a look at a few things the FDA might allow in your food and why they allow it.
Insect parts
Do you know that there could be insect parts in your peanut butter? The FDA allows for an average of less than 30 insect fragments per 100 grams. We hope that doesn't ruin your next midnight PB&J.
Fly eggs
Do you enjoy citrus fruit juices from the can? There could be Drosophila and other fly eggs or maggots from flies in your fruit juice. Less than 5 eggs per 250 ml may be acceptable and 1 maggot per 250 ml might pass inspection depending on the number of samples tested.
Sand and grit
If you like raisins, you might want to know that an average of 40 mg or less sand is allowed in a 100-gram sample of golden bleached raisins. Those raisins could have insect parts and insect eggs as well. The FDA allows for less than 10 whole insects (or the equivalent) in an 8 oz sample.
Rodent droppings
If you buy a bag of wheat, there could be rodent droppings in it. If there are pellet fragments weighing 9 milligrams or less in a kilogram of wheat, this would pass inspection. But, there is a very low tolerance for any complete rodent droppings in a package of food.
Rodent hair
Do you enjoy popcorn and a movie? It may be okay if a rodent hair is found in a sample of popcorn, but only one sample. If two samples have a rodent hair, this would not pass inspection.
Do you like to put pepper on your foods? As long as there are less than an average of 2 rodent hairs per 50 grams, a sample of black pepper will be considered passable.
Why are these things in our food?
From the farm to the table, there are many ways insects and rodents can come in contact with food. These food pests are persistent and it can be difficult to keep them out. Each step of the way, there are food-safety processes in place to protect your food from being contaminated. A food-processing plant, for example, employs quality assurance employees to check packaged foods to make sure they comply with governmental food-safety standards. They do this to protect their reputations but also to prevent foodborne illnesses that could impact their customers, such as Salmonella and E. Coli. They may also use equipment to scan products for metal, plastic, stone, glass, sand and other materials that could get into the food. It is a rigorous process.
At Arrow Pest Control, we support businesses that grow, process, store, transport, sell and prepare food products. We provide industry-leading pest control services to handle a wide range of pest pressures. Whether it is applying treatments around the exterior of a structure, installing pest monitoring devices inside and outside, utilizing bioremediation to address breeding sites, analyzing data and creating comprehensive documentation, establishing sanitation programs, and more, our service team members have the experience, certifications and professionalism to get the job done right. If all goes well, there won't be any of the above materials in the foods our commercial customers handle. That is our goal. Because, like you, we get our food at the grocery store and we like to go out to eat. We don't want these contaminants in our food any more than you do.
If you own a commercial facility, reach out to us. We would love the opportunity to discuss with you how you can protect your business and the food supply we all share. At the end of the day, we're all in this together.
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‟I have a service plan with Arrow and use them quite often. Never disappointed, always friendly and knowledgeable and come right out and address the matter. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them at all.”
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‟We have a quarterly service plan with Arrow. They are not only focused on addressing issues they put preventative measures in place to prevent issues from happening, like looking for and sealing the places where bugs can get into the home. The team are professional, friendly, thorough and provide details about every step of their process. We have had several different technicians over the last 2 years and each follows the same process and guidelines. Definitely recommend for treatment and prevention.”
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‟My family has used Arrow since the early 80's. In our new home we use them as well. Jason came yesterday and did a great job. Thanks again for your great service to our community!”
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‟Best customer service and the owner is the most honest business man. He will tell you the truth and not scam you like the rest of the big named pest control companies. Highly recommend Arrow has my business for life.”
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‟I used Arrow Pest Control for the first time today and I was totally satisfied, I reached out to them on Sunday and spoke to Beatrice and she set me up an appointment for Monday morn for an estimate and Monday afternoon the technician came and serviced my house.....I wish I could have gave them 10 stars, very helpful, right to the point, very professional, on time and no games.....I highly recommend arrow pest control in Morganville.......thank you J.F.”
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‟With Covid hitting everyone, the exterminator that helped us was respectful of the safety with a mask, boots and gloves. He was very informative and explained everything as he did it.”
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‟We’ve been using Arrow for the last 4 years. We have a monthly plan, so they come and service the interior and exterior regularly. We can also call them anytime for anything we see...wasp, wasp nests, rodents, ants, whatever...our coverage literally includes the mailbox at the curb all the way to the furthest point of our backyard fence and everything in between. All the technicians we’ve had, including Jason, were friendly and knowledgeable. But, Jason, goes above and beyond with his service and willingness to do more for his customers. Highly recommend Arrow Pest Control!”
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‟Tom is amazing! Arrow is the best company! Love their services. They truly care about their clients. ”
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‟Today was my first appointment with Arrow and Jason made everything seamless and efficient. Not only was he knowledgeable, he took his time explaining everything to me which proved he cared. I’m happy to have found Arrow and will continue to request Jason for my services! Thank you!”
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‟All the professional qualities a business such as Arrow Pest Control would expect a service technician to exhibit, Brian, effortlessly presented. From my standpoint, he offered GOLD STAR ”
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‟Recommended to us by neighbors, Arrow arrived promptly to treat our new to us home. The house is built on a slab which small ants love to nest in.
Their program is such that they return til the problem is solved. Today was their third visit. Steve was very thorough, professional and had a great sense of humor. I am hoping not to see him again this season! I would recommend based on our current relationship.
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‟I’m so happy we went with Arrow! We had been using another pest control company and still had a lot of spiders and crickets!! We switched to Arrow and after the first use with them, all the bugs were gone. They do a great job, very thorough, professional, friendly and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend using their services if you have any bug issues!”
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‟We were very pleased with how easy it was to schedule a first appointment with Rob and how reassuring and thorough his inspection was. A few hours later Josh arrived for the first treatment and was professional and took the time to answer all our questions. We didn’t hesitate to sign-up for Home Protection Program after seeing the quality and level of service we will receive.”
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‟Arrow and Brian with Arrow were amazing! He came same day when we heard scary noises in our attic. He found mice and a loose wire and even took a photo so we could see. He worked hard to crawl into a tiny space and we are so appreciate!! We can sleep tonight thanks to him.”
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‟Extremely professional and always on time. I was having an issue with mice and decided to call Arrow. They were able to get here next day and have an inspection. I set up with one of their monthly contracts and they were out to my home once a week continuously monitoring the situation until it was fully taken care of. I truly couldn’t recommend them more.”
