Serdar Aziret, Bayer Marketing Manager: “We provide efficient solutions in rodent control in addition to pest and rhubarb fight for the food industry and particularly companies in Horeca. When we look at the factory floor, meaning storages in which crops are stored, we develop solutions to keep organisms that we name as warehouse pests under control. After the harvest, it is required to protect the stored crops against pests. When the warehouse pests contaminate a product, they cause quantitative loss. When this contamination is intensified, molding, heat, and putrefaction occur. Based on the condition of the environment, these pests can cause a loss of between 10 and 30 percent in crops.”
Being a global company specialized in health and nutrition related life sciences, Bayer contributes to finding solutions to important problems of our time with its innovative products. The company provides significant contributions to the supply of reliable high-quality food, feed, and plant-based raw materials and continues its R&D studies. Speaking to Miller Magazine, Serdar Aziret, Bayer Türk Chemical Industry Marketing Manager, said that the company continues its works in order to be beneficial to humanity with their products and services. He talked about Bayer’s works in Environmental Health and answered many questions about pest control for human health, things to be done for food safety, measurements to prevent product loss in warehouses and existing product losses, and TMO’s effort for licensed warehouse.
The following is an interview with Serdar Aziret, Marketing Manager of Bayer.
Mr. Aziret, can we have information about Bayer’s Environmental Health Business Unit?
As Bayer Environmental Health, we develop solutions to improve and protect environmental and human health. We can say that our focus is to fight against vectors carrying disease. We find integrated vector challenge solutions to fight against insect pests. We contribute to the sustainability of the world by maintaining and improving human health, hygiene, and safety. We have an approach that extends from the whole to the individual. As we believe that we can serve human health when the conditions surrounding the individual become healthier in the world, we say Health from Environment to Human. And for all points in the external surrounding, we provide pest control solutions for all areas ranging from farms to plazas, residences, industrial facilities, parks, gardens, and enterprises. In order to fight against diseases threatening and complicating human life and totally eliminate all these diseases, we use vector control solutions. Thanks to pest control management that we have developed, we protect public health and hygiene while we increase food safety.
FOOD SAFETY HAS A CRITICAL IMPORTANCE
When speaking of food safety, what kind of solutions do you provide for the food industry?
The Bayer Environmental Health Business Unit pays great attention to the food industry. The food safety and the protection of food storing areas against pest have critical importance for enterprises for economic sustainability and also for the individual’s health. As Bayer Environmental Health, we regularly explain the integrated pest control methods to our business partners in the food industry. Thus, we increase the level of information of both institutions and individuals about chemical and physical control methods. We also contribute to preventing economic losses. We provide efficient solutions in rodent control in addition to pest and rhubarb fight for the food industry and particularly companies in Horeca. When we look at the factory floor, meaning storages in which crops are stored, we develop solutions to keep organisms that we name as warehouse pests under control.
As Bayer, you stress the importance of pest control in stored grains. Could you explain this a little more? What kind of problems exists in grain storing?
If I were to talk about the place where foods are cultivated, which are arable fields, I would like to say that the plant protection struggle in order to get high yields does not start and end only in the field. Stored crops should be protected against pests after the harvest. When the warehouse pests contaminate a product, they cause direct quantitative losses. When this contamination is intensified, molding, heat, and putrefaction occur. Based on the condition of the environment, these pests can cause a loss of between 10 and 30 percent in crops. Because of residue and dirt they left on products, the product quality diminishes which may cause economic loss as well. Some warehouse pests directly attack the germs and prevent the germ from germinating. This can cause the loss of the protein value of the grain. On the other hand, consuming products containing warehouse pests creates risk for human and animal health.
WE PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR BOTH CROP AND WAREHOUSE
What kind of practices are in effect for protecting the stored grains?
When the ambient temperature drops below 8°C, the stored grain pests cannot reproduce; that’s why keeping air temperature under control is a method in use. However, pests do not die through this method. When the ventilation control stops, the ambient temperature returns to normal; and in this environment, the population of pests grows again quickly (the population increases by 15 times in each generation). One of the common methods is the fumigation technique. However, in the fumigation technique being used by only licensed warehouses only kills pests in the environment. Since it is an immediate practice method, it does not have any protective effect against subsequent contamination.
As Bayer, with our EC-formulated K-Obiol product, we offer integrated protection that includes both direct applications on crops and empty storage application methods. You can get the immediate and lasting effect with applications on crops. When the active material (Deltamethrin 25 g/L and PBO (Piperonyl Butoxide) 250 g/L) in the medicine interacts with a pest, it passes through the pest’s external skeleton and enters into the body. It affects the pest’s nerve cells and sodium canals. Of course, the integrated pest management should be supported for long-term and permanent protection.
Mr. Aziret, what is this integrated pest fight? Could you explain this a little more?
Integrated pest management actually involves the proper use of all methods that can be used to fight against harmful organisms. Also, it is a concept that can be developed with the awareness of professionals and all individuals. If the fight against pests involves only physical measurements or chemicals, this method misses an important part, and you cannot move forward. Combining all these methods is crucial.
The priority of the integrated pest method is to remove the current problems and afterward to prevent economic loss that can be caused by pests with protective measurements. It is aimed to prevent not only economic losses but also diseases that adversely affect the environment and human health.
TMO’S MOVE FOR LICENSED WAREHOUSING IS VERY IMPORTANT
What do you think about Turkish Grain Board’s (TMO) breakthroughs in Licensed Warehouse recently?
The sector’s breakthroughs with lisensed warehouses are valuable developments for both grain/cereal producers and the food industry. TMO’s target for the lisensed warehouse is 4 million tons for 2019. This transformation is, of course, a promising transformation for the private sector and farmers. In Turkey, 25 million tons of grain on average is supplied to the market every year. However, it is not possible to sell the entire harvest immediately. That’s why it is important to store the harvest until its sale under proper conditions. As I mentioned before, warehouse pests cause a loss of between 10% and 30% in the harvest. When we consider our annual production which is 25 million tons, the risk is very big. For this reason, the investments of TMO in lisensed warehouses are very important in terms of both the development of the economy and the encouragement of the warehousing.
As Bayer Turkish Chemical Industry Limited Company, what else do you do for the food industry?
As I said before, our slogan is “Health from Environment to Human.” When environmental conditions improve, we know that this will have an impact also on human health, and we try to offer solutions at every point that touches individual life. In the food industry, we try to contribute to the activities of the Food Safety Association with our own expertise. We organize one-on-one workshops and training with food producers and strive to raise awareness of the sector in the right pest fight and hygiene.
Do you have anything else to add?
Thank you so much…