Summary Summary

The fumigant sulfuryl fluoride (SF) and heat treatment have been identified as potential alternatives to methyl bromide (MB) for disinfesting food-processing facilities. However, the food-processing industry and National Pest Management Association (NPMA) stakeholders applying for critical use nominations since the 2005 phase out of methyl bromide (MB) in the US have cited several limitations for not fully utilizing these MB alternatives. They include questionable efficacy of SF and heat when compared with MB based on current data, lack of solid economic assessment to make alternatives viable, geographic location (related to temperature) effects that make use of SF or heat unsuitable, lack of effectiveness against certain life stages of pests (SF and eggs), increased knowledge and skill required to use Fumiguide (SF), issues related to gas-tightness of facilities (emissions and buffer zones), extended treatment times with heat (>24 h), and possible adverse effects of heat on structural components of facilities. The proposed multi-institution and multi-year project therefore addresses two of the 15 critical use nominations (5 and 11) for 2009 and beyond, and addresses the concerns raised by the food industry and NPMA. The overall goal of this project, performed i