Food Safety
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Safety
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • White Papers
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
    • Contamination Control
    • Food Types
    • Management
    • Process Control
    • Regulatory
    • Sanitation
    • Supply Chain
    • Testing and Analysis
  • PODCAST
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Food Safety Five Newsreel
    • eBooks
    • FSM Distinguished Service Award
    • Interactive Product Spotlights
    • Videos
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MORE
    • ENEWSLETTER >
      • Archive Issues
      • Subscribe to eNews
    • Store
    • Sponsor Insights
  • WEBINARS
  • FOOD SAFETY SUMMIT
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
White Papers

Battle of the Birds: How to Keep Birds Out of Restaurants and Food Production Facilities

August 27, 2015

The Trouble with Birds
Simply put, birds of all feathers need to be kept out of restaurants and food manufacturing areas for a variety of reasons. Not only do they transmit diseases, they’re not exactly the cleanest creatures—even if they do use a birdbath from time to time.

What makes birds especially dangerous is that they often travel great distances, meaning they have the ability to spread contagion rapidly. Fowl also harbor over 40 types of parasites and host over 60 types of infectious diseases. If that’s not enough to make your stomach turn, there’s more.

If birds nest nearby, they can spread illness and disease via their feces, which can literally drop from anywhere at any time. Consequently, the effect they can have on a foodservice plant or a restaurant can be devastating. The diseases that live within the parasites of these animals make them particularly susceptible to passing on infection to humans and contaminating stored food sources.

Dropping In On New York 
When a bird defecates into human food or a water source, it can create a veritable health crisis. In the summer of 1993, New York City residents faced water quality problems when unhealthy Escherichia coli bacteria infiltrated drinking water in parts of the city. For several days, environmental officials were baffled by the outbreak and brought in microbiologists to help identify the source of the problem. While a firm conclusion was never reached, strong circumstantial evidence pointed to seagull droppings infecting a Yonkers water supply.[1] The contamination ultimately led to the development of additional protections to ensure the future purity of the city’s water supply.

Note that, aside from direct contamination like the one experienced in New York, airborne spores from drying bird feces in locations like air ducts or vents can also settle on exposed food and create chaos.

Cleanup Precautions 
When bird fecal dust is inhaled, the warm and moist environment of the human lung allows the infectious agents to breed. This is why one must always wear protective attire, a respirator and goggles when cleaning bird sites. Even seemingly mild things like a small cut can create infection since it is possible that the object one cut oneself on was covered in bird fecal dust.

And, since winged creatures carry parasites—mites, fleas and ticks—they can spread plague, encephalitis, pox and meningitis. Hence, proper bird control also means a parasite extermination plan.

Other Factors to Consider 
Aside from the various health risks posed by birds, restaurant and food plant inventories that are covered and contained can still be damaged by bird droppings due to its very acidic chemical composition. Think about the effect bird droppings have on your car if not cleaned off. Meanwhile, droppings and nests pose cosmetic problems, too, since they are very unattractive on restaurant buildings and corporate plant locations.

So, how do you stay on top of your bird pest problem to make sure your food entertainment enterprise or production plant is free from harmful, bird-produced problems? Step one is creating company protocols and procedures.

Developing Your Plan 
First of all, you must hold and document safety trainings for employees that work in your food plant, or for all managers of a restaurant.

The content covered in the trainings should include the following:

  • A review of the pest management program
  • Vulnerable areas to watch
  • Practices that might help eliminate birds
  • The review of audits and monthly reports
  • The methods needed to record a pest siting
  • An overview of federal, state, provincial, local and third-party audits and inspections
  • Training regarding how to interact with bird removal tools and devices

Also, staff should be trained to watch out for flying pests and document any sightings. Plant security, restaurant mechanics, production staff, warehousing personnel, quality assurance members and others can be a part of this training.

If any portion of the company plan to combat these creatures is outsourced, the work must be performed by a pest management service that conforms to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current Good Manufacturing Practices.[2]

Additionally, your plant or restaurant must provide a summary of any pest observations and potential problem areas to your management team. Infestation observations should be based on both sightings and droppings. Once installed, all pest management devices need to be mapped and recorded.

Prior to implementing the management program, a company must be sure to review all available bird pest history information. This information should include sightings, trends and any previous management processes that have been used. This historical information is important because a proper eradication strategy can only be professionally completed when viewed in the context of the bigger picture.

Be sure to note any areas of the business where food materials are exposed, and any potential entry points for birdlife, including doors or vents on the building exterior.

Ongoing Procedures 
Your plan also will need to identify how long you’re willing to wait before seeing results. If the problems related to your airborne pests do not subside in a timely manner, you might have to greatly increase your efforts.

Any bird eradication devices should have important information such as any service verification stickers, cards or product barcodes in case these data ever needs to be reviewed by an objective set of eyes. A master map of all control devices used on the property should be maintained and kept current. Any dead fowl will need to be deposited off site. Employees that remove carcasses will need to wear the appropriate protective gear.

Follow Up Protocols 
Inspections will need to be conducted—at a minimum—monthly. Sometimes mechanical alterations on the exterior of the building will be required. These building changes will need to be approved by an authorized plant or restaurant contact. Often, wires and nets can be used to combat the threat.

Yearly, a supervisor, quality assurance staff person or a manger should objectively review the plant or restaurant program. Any labels or safety data sheets should also be studied.

If you’re comfortable with the training your employees have received, you might want to include them in the annual review of the restaurant or plant. This study should include an inspection of the exterior property and interior of the plant, a summary of bird infestations, what areas are susceptible to contamination and an analysis of all seasonal trend data. Any quality assurance audits should also be looked at.

Record Keeping
Also, be sure that all documents related to your plan are electronically retained. All service tickets should also be kept electronically. Documentation of sightings should include the area affected, the type of bird, the date, time and what shift the fowl was sighted on.

You will also need to keep a sighting log. The log will not only include the information above but will note what action was taken by the restaurant or plant to remove the problem.

Keeping your plant or restaurant free of birds will be hard work. But the plans and protocols you develop will keep you, your staff and your customers free from all forms of bird menace contagion.

Kelly A. Nelson is the content marketing director at Bird-X, Inc.

References

  1. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/04/us/sea-gulls-in-yonkers-are-suspects-in-water-contamination-mystery.html.
  2. http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/cgmp/.

Author(s): Kelly A. Nelson

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • people holding baby chicks

    Serovar Differences Matter: Utility of Deep Serotyping in Broiler Production and Processing

    This article discusses the significance of Salmonella in...
    Microbiological
    By: Nikki Shariat Ph.D.
  • woman washing hands

    Building a Culture of Hygiene in the Food Processing Plant

    Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to...
    Food Prep/Handling
    By: Richard F. Stier, M.S.
  • graphical representation of earth over dirt

    Climate Change and Emerging Risks to Food Safety: Building Climate Resilience

    This article examines the multifaceted threats to food...
    Contamination Control
    By: Maria Cristina Tirado Ph.D., D.V.M. and Shamini Albert Raj M.A.
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine Subscription
  • Subscribe to eNewsletter
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Website Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Food Safety Magazine audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Food Safety Magazine or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • mold
    Sponsored byIFC

    Tackling Mold Remediation in Food Processing Plants

  • a worker in a food processing plant
    Sponsored byLPS® DETEX®

    How a Beverage Facility Improved Food Safety and Compliance with Detectable Packaging Solutions

  • Two men standing in a produce storage facility having a discussion.
    Sponsored byOrkin Commercial

    Staying Compliant With FSMA

Popular Stories

sunflower oil

Louisiana Passes ‘MAHA’ Bill Targeting More Than 40 Ingredients, Including Seed Oils, Dyes, Sweeteners

smoked salmon in oil

Study Shows Food Type Significantly Affects Listeria’s Ability to Survive Digestion, Cause Sickness

Justin Ransom and Denise Eblen

USDA-FSIS Announces Dr. Justin Ransom as New Administrator

Events

July 15, 2025

Hygienic Design Risk Management: Industry Challenges and Global Insights

Live: July 15, 2025 at 11:00 am EDT: From this webinar, attendees will learn the importance of hygienic design to ensure food safety and sanitation effectiveness.

July 22, 2025

Beyond the Binder: Digital Management of Food Safety

Live: July 22, 2025 at 3:00 pm EDT: During this webinar, attendees will learn best practices for the use of digital food safety management systems across industry and regulatory agencies.

August 7, 2025

Achieve Active Managerial Control of Major Risk Factors Using a Food Safety Management System

Live: August 7, 2025 at 2:00 pm EDT: From this webinar, attendees will learn about changes to the FDA Food Code, which now includes a requirement for FSMS. 

View All

Products

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

See More Products
Environmental Monitoring Excellence eBook

Related Articles

  • Food Safety Matters

    IFC: Getting the Birds Out

    See More
  • Effective control of birds and pests across the food chain

    Effective control of birds and pests across the food chain

    See More
  • Insect-Eating Wild Birds Pose Low Risk of Pathogen Transfer to Crops

    Insect-Eating Wild Birds Pose Low Risk of Pathogen Transfer to Crops

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • 9781498721776.jpg

    Handbook of Food Processing: Food Safety, Quality, and Manufacturing Processes

  • 1444333348.jpg

    Handbook of Food Safety Engineering

  • 1119053595.jpg

    Food Safety for the 21st Century: Managing HACCP and Food Safety throughout the Global Supply Chain, 2E

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • May 15, 2025

    Alarm Fatigue: How to Ensure Out-of-Compliance Alarms Serve Their Purpose and Ensure Food Safety

    On Demand: This session will explore the challenges of setting effective alarms for out-of-compliance hot and cold holding temperatures in food safety management. 
View AllSubmit An Event

Related Directories

  • Douglas Products

    Douglas Products leverages more than 100 years of expertise to help food manufacturers and their distribution partners mitigate quality assurance risks ensuring a healthier, more sustainable future. To learn how Douglas Products’ fumigation solutions help to protect food safety, public health and brand reputation, visit ProFume.com.
  • MPI - Magnetic Products Inc.

    Based in Metro-Detroit Michigan since 1981, MPI designs, manufactures, and services industrial magnets, material handling, and electronic inspection systems. Visit www.mpimagnet.com to see how MPI can help you achieve your food safety plan and minimize the risk of a product recall by providing best-practice know-how and equipment to detect and remove metal contaminants.
  • Bunting

    Bunting magnetic separation and metal detection products help you remove and transport the metals out of bakery goods, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, cooking oil and various other solid and liquid food products. Bunting is dedicated to seeking out new ways to help food manufacturers streamline their facilities.
×

Never miss the latest news and trends driving the food safety industry

eNewsletter | Website | eMagazine

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing