Insect Management with Aerosols in Food-Processing Facilities

Stored-product insects infest raw grain, processed cereal grains, warehouses, and foodprocessing facilities such as flour and feed mills. The presence of insects in commodities or structures leads to quantitative and qualitative losses of grain and processed food. The presence of insects and insect-related materials (insect fragments) in processed products is regulated by federal food and drug laws. Management of insects in food-processing facilities is important to prevent adulteration of finished products. Several tactics that are recommended for management of insects associated with food-processing facilities include stock rotation, inspection of inbound and outbound materials, sanitation, exclusion practices, fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride or methyl bromide, use of heat treatments (Mahroof et al. 2003, Boina et al. 2008), crack and crevice treatments with residual insecticides (Toews et al. 2005, 2009), and the use of aerosols or fogs. A lot of research has been done documenting the effectiveness of whole structure treatments with fumigants and heat treatments, and limited information is available on efficacy of the other chemical and non-chemical (sanitation) insect management tactics. Among these, application of insecticides as aerosols (fogging) is one tool with great potential for effective management of insects in food-processing facilities based on pilot-scale and a few commercial-scale tests. In this chapter, we provide a detailed account on the history of aerosol technology and suitability of this technology for insect management in food-storage and food-processing facilities with supporting information from studies conducted in laboratory and field settings with notes on advantages and limitations of this technology.