SALSA Pest Control
SALSA asks for the same discipline as the larger schemes without the overhead. Shield runs it at the scale a small producer can actually maintain, and produces the records the auditor asks for as part of the visit.
At a Glance
SALSA Issue 7 calls the section Pest Management. It requires premises designed, built and maintained to minimise the risk of infestation, with the methods of control communicated to all staff, and the services of a competent pest control operator contracted for the regular inspection and treatment of premises.
The inspection frequency must be clearly defined, reflect the activities of the site and be reviewed at least annually. Every control measure must appear on a plan or diagram of the site, and that plan must be reviewed, dated and signed at least annually.
Inspection records must show pest activity and treatments at individual points and the actions taken against the operator’s recommendations, and results must be assessed and analysed for trends at least annually, with corrective action where a trend is identified.
What the Standard Asks For
SALSA is shorter than BRCGS, which is the point. Every clause still has to be evidenced, and a small site has fewer places to hide a gap.
SALSA is explicit that the services of a competent pest control operator shall be contracted. Unlike the larger schemes, a trained member of your own staff is not presented as an alternative.
Clause 1.9.1 asks for construction and maintenance that minimise the risk of infestation, and Issue 7 adds that the methods of control shall be communicated to all staff. Proofing, drainage, door seals and external housekeeping are read as part of the system, not separately from it.
The frequency must reflect what the site actually does, be written down, and be reviewed at least annually. A default eight visits a year with no reasoning behind it is a finding.
Clause 1.9.3. Every rodent point, insect monitor and fly killer identified on a plan or diagram of the site. Issue 7 is explicit that the plan shall be reviewed, dated and signed at least annually, so an undated drawing no longer passes.
Not just that a visit happened. Activity found and treatment applied at each individual point, plus what was done about the operator’s recommendations.
Results assessed and analysed for trends at least annually, with corrective action taken to eliminate further risk to product safety wherever a trend is identified.
The Records
On a small site the auditor usually gets through the pest control file in ten minutes. These are the six things in it.
Naming the operator, the service, the agreed frequency and the out-of-hours arrangement.
The operator’s qualifications and trade body membership. BPCA registration is the straightforward way to evidence competent.
A dated note showing the visit frequency was reviewed against the site’s activities within the last twelve months.
Numbered points on a plan or diagram, reviewed, dated and signed at least annually under Issue 7, matching what is physically on the wall.
Per visit and per point: activity found, treatment applied, recommendations raised and the actions taken against them.
A written assessment of the year’s results, with the corrective action where a trend was identified.
How We Build It
A field biologist sets the visit frequency from what the site actually produces and stores, writes the reasoning down, and reviews it annually so the answer exists before the auditor asks.
Every point tied to a location on the plan and recorded in Insectram, so the plan and the premises never drift apart between audits.
Activity and treatment are logged against the individual point on the visit, not summarised afterwards, which is exactly the level SALSA asks for.
The annual assessment is generated from the year’s data and written up with the corrective actions, rather than left for a small technical team to assemble.
Where Sites Lose Points
Small producers rarely fail on infestation. They fail on the paperwork that proves the system exists.
A local operator visiting on an informal basis, with nothing in writing that defines the service.
Visits happening at a sensible interval, with no record of why that interval was chosen or when it was last reviewed.
A site diagram from the year the contract started, with points since moved, added or removed. Issue 7 wants the annual review dated and signed, so an undated plan is a finding on its own.
A service sheet saying no activity seen, with nothing recorded against individual points.
Proofing raised on three consecutive visits with no action recorded against it.
The single most commonly missed clause. Twelve months of readings, no written assessment, no corrective action.
Our Method
A field biologist surveys the premises, the storage and the external areas, and writes the risk assessment and the visit frequency with the reasoning recorded. Control points are installed, numbered and drawn on the site plan. From the first visit, activity and treatment are recorded at point level in Insectram and recommendations are assigned to an owner. By ninety days you have a defined frequency you can justify, a current plan, point-level records and an action list that is closing rather than growing.
AI Pest Management
Insectram holds the site plan, the numbered points, every inspection, every recommendation and every document in one place, which matters most on a site where nobody has pest control as a full-time job. Point-level activity and treatment records, the annual trend analysis, safe-use documentation for every product applied, and a complete history for the audit window are all in the portal. Your auditor can be given direct access. AI analytics flag recurring risks and seasonal patterns, while every technical decision stays with your BPCA-qualified technician.
Issue 7
SALSA released Issue 7 on 1 June 2026, and from 1 September 2026 every SALSA audit is conducted against it. There is no transition period: if your audit falls after that date it is assessed against Issue 7 whatever your certificate says. For pest control the structure is unchanged but three things moved.
The section is now called Pest Management rather than Pest Control. Clause 1.9.1 adds a requirement that the methods of control are communicated to all staff, which is an induction and training record rather than a pest control document, and is the change most sites will not have made. And clause 1.9.3 now states that the plan or diagram of control measures shall be reviewed, dated and signed at least annually, where Issue 6 asked only that it be reviewed.
Everything else carries over unchanged: the contracted competent operator, the defined and annually reviewed frequency, point-level inspection records, annual trend analysis, and safe-use documentation held on site. Shield checks all three for clients before the audit.
Field Biologist Support
On a small site this is usually the clause with nobody assigned to it. A field biologist reviews the year’s data, writes the assessment and sets the corrective actions, so the clause is answered by a document rather than a conversation.
A documented inspection ahead of your audit, written in the language the standard uses, identifying gaps while there is still time to close them.
A field biologist can attend on audit day and answer technical questions directly. Where a non-conformance is raised you get a corrective action plan with owners, dates and evidence requirements, closed out through the portal.
The Other Standards
SALSA is often the first scheme a growing producer certifies to, and frequently the last one before a retailer asks for BRCGS. The programme is built so that moving up is a documentation step rather than a fresh survey.
The food industry benchmark, and the usual next step when a retailer customer outgrows SALSA.
Farm and packing assurance, where pest control works alongside grain storage and livestock operations.
Rigorous, points-scored auditing with heavy emphasis on root cause analysis and trend interpretation.
Pest control as a prerequisite programme inside your wider food safety management system.
GFSI-recognised certification, accepted across global supply chains and demanding the same evidence discipline.
The documentation an environmental health officer asks for, and how pest control sits inside your HACCP plan.
Client Feedback
“Shield’s audit compliance support for our BRCGS certification has been invaluable. Their knowledge of the standards has made our audits much more streamlined.”
Food Manufacturing
“We’ve been using Shield’s Insectram reporting system and it has changed how we manage pest control. Real-time updates and trend analysis keep us proactive.”
Multi-site Facilities
“Shield’s commercial pest control service is impressive. Their technicians are professional and thorough, ensuring our warehouse remains pest-free.”
Warehousing
Areas We Cover
Based in Selby, Shield services SALSA-approved bakeries, breweries, dairies, butchery, preserves, ready meal and specialist food producers across Yorkshire, the Humber and the North of England. Independent since 2002, BPCA registered, £10m public liability, 24-hour emergency response.
A Shield field biologist will review your pest control arrangements against the SALSA standard, tell you whether your frequency, plan, records and trend analysis would stand up on the day, and set out what it takes to close any gaps. No obligation.
A: Yes. SALSA's pest control section states that the services of a competent pest control operator shall be contracted for the regular inspection and treatment of premises. Unlike the larger schemes it does not present a trained in-house resource as an alternative, so the practical answer for a SALSA site is a contract with an operator whose competence you can evidence, which BPCA registration does straightforwardly.
A: SALSA does not set a number. It requires the frequency to be clearly defined, to reflect the activities of the site, and to be reviewed at least annually. What an auditor checks is that the interval was chosen for a reason, that the reason is written down, and that the review has happened within the last twelve months.
A: The annual trend analysis. Results of pest control inspections have to be assessed and analysed for trends at least once a year, with corrective action taken where a trend is identified. On a small site there is often nobody assigned to it, so twelve months of inspection records exist with no written assessment of what they show.
