PSI Bulletin: July 2025

No. 07/25 SUBSCRIBER EDITION

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Dear Subscriber,

Welcome to your July edition of Synopsis, your monthly storage bulletin from Potato Storage Insight.

Finally, after another long drawn out season, we are seeing several stores getting cleared albeit a bit later than anticipated but, in many cases, on a par with 2023 and 2024.

PSI activity

There was a rush of interest as our early-bird rates came to an end last month for the next Potato Storage Insight one-day training course being held on 2 September.

That leaves us with just five spaces remaining available for the course at £375 + VAT.

The course will be held at the Greetham Valley Hotel near Oakham, Rutland, LE15 7SN. It's just a couple of miles off the A1. Lunch is included and BASIS CPD points will be available.

Please contact us if you need further details and a booking form or simply click here. You can also call Adrian on 07970 072260 or email admin@potatostorageinsight.com.

Otherwise, we're moving into a busy time for store auditing which we hope to intersperse with a few field event visits and some international conference work. Sadly, this means a planned visit to Potatoes in Practice won't now happen but we're working hard on some new outputs for BP2025 in November.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Best practice

HEALTH & SAFETY REMINDERS AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON

Here's a top ten reminders for checking stores ahead of a new campaign:

1. Electrical safety: potato stores are always prone to moisture accumulation so don't take chances with damaged cables or glands on conveyors, hoppers etc.

2. Check any access equipment or structures thoroughly before relying on them - again high humidity conditions can contribute to degradation of timber walkways, steps and similar. They may have been there for years but that doesn't mean they can't fail.

3. Seal any gaps where treatment chemicals might leak. These gaps can also let air in that could cause condensation or even provide access to vermin.

4. Check boxes to ensure they are up to the task. Corner posts have a lot of weight to carry if they are at the bottom of a stack of loaded boxes in a store.

5. Review your lone-working risk assessment for working in the store. Check if you can get a reliable phone signal in the building. If not consider introducing a reporting system for store access so you can let somebody know you are there and when you intend to leave.

6. Eliminate any potential sources of food or potential harbourage for rats and mice. Seal any breaches in the structure that might allow pests access to the crop storage areas.

7. Make sure lights are working so that you are not wholly reliant on a torch. Consider options such as head torches for routine inspections as they allow you to move around the store with both hands free.

8. Eliminate potential causes of slips and trips, such as dripping condensate from a fridge overflow.

9. Vacuum stores throroughly to eliminate unnecessary sources of dust.

10. Consider buying a personal carbon dioxide alarm if your are concerned about CO2 build up in the store. The working exposure limit for an 8 hour day is 5000 ppm.

CONTINUE TO CLEAN STORES PREVIOUSLY TREATED WITH CIPC FULLY

Chlorpropham (CIPC) lost its approval in January 2020. As a non-approved product any residual chemical still in previously treated stores is considered a contaminant.

Fortunately, due to the diligence of our industry in testing for residues, we have a temporary MRL for residual CIPC at a level of 0.35 mg/kg which allow us to use any stores where low levels still persist. But the release of CIPC can take place over an extended time period and is influenced by multiple factors, both physical and environmental.

It is therefore our obligation, as store owners/operators, to continue to clean previously-treated stores to remove any residual chemical from the store fabric, concrete or ventilation systems. Please therefore ensure that you continue cleaning stores that were previously treated with CIPC thoroughly.

This infographic highlights key actions that HSE considers important for on-going removal of CIPC residues:

Technical insight

DON'T BE COMPLACENT ABOUT BLIGHT!

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