Where you have food you will inevitably also have pests – or so I have been told.
That, at least, has lately been the case for several commissaries overseas which have been struggling with vermin problems. According to an email we received, the Patch commissary, located in Stuttgart, Germany, was recently closed for several days while officials did their best to take care of a mice problem, and at the commissary in Naples one reader saw signs (in Italian) warning of rat poison.
Gross.
The whole thing made me wonder about just what the commissary does to make sure mice/rats/yucky bugs don’t take up residence in all of their stores.
The news is both good and bad. First, the bad:
This isn’t a problem isolated to Naples and Stuttgart. I know, I know – of course it isn’t. I’d even be fibbing if I said I didn’t have my own, personal mice problem in this rental thanks to some poorly stored bird feed and a few tempting bags of Teddy Grahams. But that doesn’t mean I like to admit that there is a problem – especially where I shop. Officials readily admitted that the commissary rodent problem is a “constant threat.”
The good news: commissaries don’t close very often for rodent problems, according to Col. Michael A. Buley, director of DeCA’s public health and safety directorate. He told us in a statement that periodic inspections are done to look for signs of possible infestation or spots that are likely to result in one. Health and safety officials work together on base, he said, to make sure the pests are done away with quickly and safely.
Have you ever experienced a rodent (or other bug) problem at your commissary?
About Amy Bushatz
Comments
Eww why is it such a problem for them? Are they not doing preventative maint? I worked in a grocery store for 10 yrs and they never had a rodent problem once.
Ew, and also ew: My husband has to share his room with a bunch of mice at his COP in Afghanistan! I may try to send him some mousetraps….
Having worked for years in the preventive medicine field… rodent problems follow every where people are located. Especially when you intertwine the movement, storage and display of food! There is a very comprehensive approach and regulations that keep these things in check. The human factor is the big fail point… if you are doing all the inspections, trapping, and colony counts everything seems to go well… until the staff or individuals in an area (by lack of training or care/investment in the task) leave items out and trash (poor housekeeping) is going to lead to an infestation that is unfortunately preventable and/or controllable.
I've had workers at commissaries tell me part of the routine before putting food out on display is to check for mice holes. My son didn't notice such a hole on a thing of Top Ramen. That's why you should always wash off tops of cans and other containers where its contents come in contact with food or drink being poured out.