Keeping Pests at Bay
What do food security, global health, and economic wellbeing all have in common? The need to keep pests at bay. From storage facilities to schools, and from restaurants to homes, Bayer works across the food supply chain to safeguard our essential spaces and reduce the threat of pests. Pest management teams around the world are working toward building a more resilient food system and advancing Bayer’s mission of Health for All, Hunger for None.
At any point along the food supply chain, pests pose a serious threat to food safety and security. Termites, for example, are not only bad for a home; they can destroy a warehouse, a farm structure, or a school building. If left unchecked, they can cause quite a lot of damage before you even notice they are there.
According to FAO, approximately 30 percent of global crop production is lost annually around the world because of pests and diseases, resulting not only in wasted food but also nearly $300 billion in financial losses per year. Especially in times of global instability, providing farmers, distributors and pest management professionals with solutions to mitigate the risk of pest infestations is key to ensuring that healthy harvests reach consumers. Through innovations in pest management, Bayer is focused on creating solutions that reduce food loss and waste at every stage from farm to fork.
“Feeding the world is two-fold,” said Frederico Belluco, Global Marketing Manager for Professional Pest Management in Bayer’s Environmental Science business. “Although increasing production is extremely important, what many people may not realize is how much food is lost in the process of getting it to consumers, and this loss is preventable through tools and solutions our teams deliver.”
Bayer’s pest management solutions protect high-risk facilities like grain mills or warehouses, helping to keep pests from contaminating food as it is stored, produced, or distributed. Ensuring a successful journey from harvest to the end consumer requires an integrated approach to pest management, combining not only products and tailored services but also training for users and sustainable solutions to create clean, sterile environments.
In addition to securing our food supply against food loss, safeguarding the public and private spaces from the threat of pests is crucial to uphold the highest standards of public health and safety. According to the World Health Organization, there are an estimated 600 million cases of food-borne illnesses each year, many of them linked to some form of pest. The CDC reports that rodents alone transmit more than 35 diseases directly or indirectly worldwide. And pests like cockroaches are of huge concern for restaurants and food retailers for a variety of reasons, mainly in that they spread bacteria that can cause foodborne illnesses like Salmonella or E. coli.
In an effort to combat this, the Professional Pest Management team at Bayer is equipping customers with digital tools to help them best monitor their environments and food supplies before any particular problem could cause harm. Digital pest management tools, such as the Rodent Monitoring System, allow processors, retailers, and restaurants to monitor their premises without even stepping place inside.
“These digital tools help provide peace of mind to our customers,” said Amina Dussud, Market Segment Business Services Manager for Professional Pest Management. “It shifts mindsets to be preventative rather than curative and equips business owners with the confidence to stay ahead of any challenges.”
This has proved hugely beneficial to business owners in recent months as the pandemic forced many to shut down their restaurants, cafes, and other food-serving establishments and limit visitors. These preventative measures and innovative digital tools have enabled customers to do the important work of keeping public spaces and food free of pests even during the shutdown. Moving forward, digital tools and innovative solutions will continue to be driving forces in the pursuit of keeping our environments — and our food — free from pests in a sustainable way.
As we continue to look toward a brighter future, Bayer joins those celebrating World Pest Day and commends the work that pest control operators around the world are doing every single day to safeguard our food supply and global health. Bayer is committed to protecting communities and inspiring the next generation to continue this important work.