Archive for the Food Category
Posted on February 3, 2012 with No Comments
Do you want to give that special someone a special valentine’s day gift? How about a cockroach! Okay, well not really a cockroach, more like a cocoa-roach. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is offering a light-hearted way to make sure your loved one knows your feelings are forever — with a roach in their name and a 100 percent solid dark chocolate COCOA-ROACH. For more information visit the Bronx Zoo’s website where it says that for just $15, a hand-painted, artisanal chocolate roach will give your Valentine something to squeal about. There’s no reason to bug out with this 100% luxury dark chocolate gift, which we’ll ship for free directly to you or to the lucky gift recipient. An especially great gift if you are a New York Pest Control Company.
Posted on June 13, 2011 with No Comments
Apples are one of America’s favorite fruit, coming in 2nd after bananas.
Recent studies have shown that pesticide residue may be lingering beneath the waxy coating of your favorite snack.
According to an article in the WSJ: 98% of apples that were reviewed contained traces of pesticides even after rinsing the fruit under cold water for 10 seconds, much like a precaution that you and I would take.
This sounds like a large number, but its okay!
The article reassures us of the harmlessness by reporting that only 3% of the pesticides detected were unapproved pesticides, or over the limit of proper pesticide dosages. The article also mentions that any of these unapproved or improper dosages may have innocently traveled via wind gusts from other orchards where they are being used properly for other types of produce.
This popular fruit has been listed at the top of the Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ with many other popular fruits and veggies. This being said, you should still take precautions, but if you cannot obtain organic, pesticide-free apples and other produce, you are not in harms’ way by consuming these miniscule amounts of product.
Photo Credit
Posted on January 18, 2011 with 6 Comments
One of our employees here at JP McHale Pest management recently took a trip across the country to San Fransisco, CA. While there, they spotted a candy store with some interesting candies. The employee purchased two of the many varieties that they had. These are real, and we haven’t tried them yet. The first ingridient is either larvae or crickets.
Let us know if you have had these before!
Posted on February 25, 2010 with 3 Comments
Waybright Elementary School in Mass. has recently reopened after a rat sighting caused the school to close for a day. During school, a student saw a rat running down a stairwell. This isn’t the first time the school has had a problem with rats. In December, a construction project disrupted where some rats where living, causing them to go into the school. The school called a pest management professional, sealed off entranceway and set traps. Until they were sure the problem went away, they asked students to not leave food in classrooms and stopped serving hot lunches. They thought the problem was gone until the lone rat was spotted.
There were no signs of more rats being in the school. They didn’t find any feces or rats in traps that would indicate more than the lone rat. During the incident in the winter, there was evidence of burrowing by the rats. However, the building was swept and no burrowing was located this time around. The school reassured everybody that every precaution was taking place to prevent further incidents. They also said this is not an event isolated to just the school. Homes around the area have been having similar problems. The school has spent upwards of $30,000 already clear the rats out of the school, and expects to spend more money in the future.
If you have seen a rat or mouse in your home please contact us for a free inspection. Winter is the most common time to see a rodent in your home.
Wicked Local reported about this story first.
Picture credit: hr.icio
Posted on February 24, 2010 with No Comments
A famous Los Angeles eatery, Philippes, has been shut down for a couple of days, due to a cockroach infestation. Philippes, which has been open for over 100 years and is famous for its French Dip, was inspected due to several complains. The restaurant has always done well during inspections, and when the county inspectors came and inspected it, it did receive a good score, in the low 90s. Even with the good score, the infestation forced a shut down. The restaurant was forced to fix the infestation, and when inspectors returned in a couple of days, they were to look and make sure the infestation was gone. Once they give the ok, Philippes would reopen.
Cockroaches are mainly nocturnal, and leave behind a chemical trail in their feces. Cockroaches are relatively large insects, and some carry about 40 eggs in each egg capsule they lay. Their life span is only about a year, however, in that time span, they lay up to 8 egg capsules. They feed on human and pet food, leave behind a poor odor and have a hissing sound. The fact that they feed on this food is one of the main reasons that they are such a problem for restaurants. Philippes isn’t the only place that has been hit by this pest, and certainly will not be the last.
Don’t let a cockroach infestation ruin your businesses reputation. Contact JP McHale for a free inspection and quote of your establishment. We are also able to service chain restaurants across the country with our partnership with Copesan.
We heard about this story from the LA Times.
Posted on February 10, 2010 with No Comments
Imagine walking into a fancy restaurant in Costa Rica and looking at the menu. You see the usual, but then you come across garlic grasshoppers as a main course. Well the idea of cultivating insects and making them edible has gained steam in Costa Rica. The main source for this idea comes from Africa, where eating insects is apart of every day life. Costa Rican scientists have looked into their forest and surroundings and have found many insects that would work well when put into the everyday diet. The Scientists have joined forces with scientists from Benin. Benin has long consumed insects and mushrooms. In most other countries insects are considered gourmet food believe it or not.
These insects can be cooked multiple ways. You can grill them, fry them, put onions or garlic on them. One Costa Rican scientist said that the large grasshoppers that they find in the forest are “far more savory than shrimp” when garlic is added on. Termites, crickets, butterfly and moth larvae are other types of insects that are routinely consumed. To the credit of the Scientists, they eat every insect that they consider an option to be on menus. The idea has been met with a ton of skepticism, so the best way to introduce this would be to first put only delicacies on the menu, according to the those in charge. Either way, we may not be far off from seeing crickets on skewers with onions in our favorite restaurants.
We found out about this topic from the Associated Press.
Picture Credit
Posted on February 10, 2010 with 2 Comments
Chinatown restaurants in Ottawa, Ontario Canada are struggling to keep its restaurants up the Ontario’s Health Standards. 23 of the 42 restaurants in the district have been found to have non-critical infractions that affect food safety. However, 18 of the 42 have been found to have critical infractions. What has caused these infractions? Cockroaches and Mice have been rampant in these restaurants. Cockroaches and Mice have used the large areas and the big staff to make these new restaurants their home. What makes Cockroaches so concerning is the fact that they can hold up to 40 eggs, so when they give birth, there is another 40 possible Cockroaches coming. Mice have also been linked to infesting restaurants for many years.
It isn’t just the lower rung of restaurants having this problem. For example, Chu Shing, the largest restaurant on the block, and may be the most popular restaurant in the area, has been hit. Chu Shing has line that are notoriously long just to get into the place. Waits of up to a half hour isn’t an unusually occurence. However, Chu Shing has been hit with a Cockroach problem. They have a pest control company come about every 2 weeks. After getting hit with a bunch of critical and non-critical infractions, the popular restaurant got the all important word that it was clean from infractions. The district has made its restaurants go through a safety training, and all that have taken it has passed. However, even with the training, cockroaches and mice continue to linger around these restaurants, and its going to be hard to get rid of all of them.
Don’t let infractions like this put your restaurant in jeopardy of closure. Contact JP McHale’s Commercial and Industrial service department fora free inspection and a custom Integrated Pest Management plan for your establishment.
Information from the Ottawa Citizen was used in this article.
Tags: Canada, closures, Cockroaches, commercial pest management, IPM, Mice, ottawa, restaraunts
Category: Cockroaches, Crawling Insects, Food, Integrated Pest Management, Kitchens, Mice, Rodent
Posted on January 20, 2010 with No Comments
Over the past few weeks, pest control companies in Edinburg, Scotland have seen an increase in rodent calls outside restaurants and other types of food establishments. Why? The obvious reason is during the winter rodents will look for warmth and get inside homes. However the reason for this increase is because of icy roads. Town works are unable to access the trash bins so the trash is not removed. Trash removal is essential in keeping a pest free environment. Sometimes it is just not possible to control some factors, which we must work around to develop a unique program tailored to your needs. (Integrated Pest Management)
Tags: garbage, icy roads, Rodents, snow, trash, vermin
Category: Commercial Pest Control, Food, Integrated Pest Management, Mice, Rats, Rodent, Winter Pests
Posted on January 13, 2010 with No Comments
Recently a sushi bar’s health permit was revoked due to cockroaches being found inside the cash register, in the motor of the freezer and even ON THE BAR. Running a restaurant in this way is simply unacceptable. Sanitation should be top priority in food establishments.
After a follow up inspection, the sushi bar’s heath permit was reinstated, however the health inspector pointed out that there were still cockroaches in and under the cash register. JP McHale services countless restaurants in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. We worth directly with the owners and managers to formulate an Integrated Pest Management plan to keep the establishment clean and pest free. After even one health violation your restaurant’s reputation can be ruined forever. Take precautions and give us a call today.
Posted on January 6, 2010 with No Comments
Today the Food and Drug Administration seized over $1 million worth of food from the Nashville, Tennessee based food processor, Won Feng Trading Company. The reason for the seizure was because of unsanitary practices which could have lead to food contamination. It was not made clear to whether or not any of the contaminated food made its way into restaurants that this distributor sells to.
“The FDA will take actions against any food companies that fail to provide adequate safeguards to ensure that products they produce or hold for sale remain free of contamination.”
-FDA Spokesperson
A variety of rice, fresh produce and frozen good were among the foods seized. Being a clean and sanitary company should be on the top of the list for the managers of this food plant. This kind of violation can tarnish your company’s’ reputation forever. Check out our Commercial and Industrial Pest Control page for information on the services we offer for this type of establishment.
Read the FDA press release.
Do you want to give that special someone a special valentine’s day gift? How about a cockroach! Okay, well not really a cockroach, more like a cocoa-roach. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is offering a light-hearted way to make sure your loved one knows your feelings are forever — with a roach in their name and a 100 percent solid dark chocolate COCOA-ROACH. For more information visit the Bronx Zoo’s website where it says that for just $15, a hand-painted, artisanal chocolate roach will give your Valentine something to squeal about. There’s no reason to bug out with this 100% luxury dark chocolate gift, which we’ll ship for free directly to you or to the lucky gift recipient. An especially great gift if you are a New York Pest Control Company.
