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They are not just a nuisance ' they can spread serious diseases. They visit the most disgusting places. In the countryside they will seek out animal excrement. In urban areas they love to visit trashcans. Whatever they find will be spread amongst us and could end up in our food if we let them into our kitchens and food stores. They are, of course one of the greatest disease spreaders we have known ' houseflies ' or Musca domestica.

With modern methods of food production, where an ingredient from one food factory can find its way into thousands of food products distributed far and wide ' it only takes one weak link in the chain for thousands to be infected with diseases carried by houseflies.

These days, especially in industrialized economies, we have less and less control over our food. The production processes, the ingredients and, of course, the hygiene standards that surround them are in the hands of others.

There are fly killer machines out there, some cheap and nasty that simply are not up to the job and the more robust machines such as those made by Insect-o-Cutor (buy at www.eeeee.co.uk). Health inspectors are becoming increasingly aware of some of these cheaper alternatives. They realize that there are some skinflint companies out there that will buy the cheapest fly killer machine they can find, hoping that the health inspector will tick the appropriate box. What they are missing is this: protecting the public is not about complying with standards; it's actually about protecting the public! In any case, if the fly killer machine is not fit for purpose then they are probably breaking the law and will not meet even their lowest of standards.

Good production managers, quality assurance staff etc will not skimp on public health. As for the bad ones: just wait for your next visit by an environmental health officer.