Tag Archives: kitchen safety

General Safety Issues

10 Essential Restaurant Safety Tips for Food Service Workers

Hospitality workers dedicate their lives to the comfort and convenience of their patrons. As a result, however, this often means sacrificing their own health and safety. Despite the seemingly sheltered work of restaurant employees, there are countless hazards to look out for in the food service industry.

Unlike with construction, restaurant workers are required to account for their own safety, as well as the safety of the people they’re serving. In restaurants, safety has as much to do with physical hazards as illness-related ones. That’s why diligence and proper training are absolutely essential in the food service industry.

There are ten approaches to ensuring a well-oiled and well-maintained restaurant environment.

Wear the right attire

The number of ways one can injure themselves in a restaurant are countless. Burns, cuts, and slips occur on a regular basis in food service – whether your work is in the kitchen or in the front of the house. For this reason, all restaurant workers should wear non-slip shoes at all times. Spills occur far too regularly.

Non-slip shoes should be closed toe. Falling knives and spraying oil can pose a serious danger. Meanwhile, kitchen staff should wear “cut gloves”, an industry coined term for cut-resistant gloves, and some sort of eyewear to prevent against splashes of oil or grease.

Get your contamination education

Microbes love to travel, and contaminated restaurant surfaces are one of the leading causes of foodborne illness. It’s crucial that you clean food prep surfaces regularly, and that surfaces used for meat and poultry are kept separate from those used for produce.

Employees should be aware of how to avoid being the instigators of food-borne illness. For this reason, kitchen employees should wear hairnets and latex gloves when preparing and cooking food. Furthermore, management should enforce hand-washing between activities, before and after breaks, after using the restroom, and so on.

Take fire safety precautions

It’s no surprise that kitchens attract grease fires. While a fire alarm and sprinkler system are useful, a fire suppression system is the best solution. This is a system that connects the range hood and gas line, so that the fuel source is immediately cut in the event that the system is tripped.

Furthermore, all staff members should be aware of the nearest fire extinguishers and emergency exits. Since they will be responsible for the well-being of the customers also when the time comes, preparedness will be absolutely necessary.

Invest in the proper signage

Wet floors are a permanent fixture in most restaurants. Spills are commonplace and floors are regularly mopped, which means wood, tile, and linoleum surfaces become slippery. Wet floor signs will protect workers and customers against slips and falls.

Learn correct carrying techniques

Especially for servers, correct carrying techniques are important. Heavy trays can cause irreversible back and muscle strain if not carried correctly. For starters, avoid awkward postures. Many servers carry trays at shoulder height on the tips of their fingers, but this places excessive strain on your arms and back. Trays should be carried lower, about waist-level, and supported by the forearm.

Large boxes and storage containers should also be dealt with delicately, and workers should always request help from their peers when possible. Many restaurants buy food products in bulk, which come in heavy crates and boxes.

Know the limitations for young workers

The food industry is filled with minors – and while restaurant work is great experience for teens, there are limitations to what they can do. For starters, teens that are 14-15 years of age cannot cook, bake, operate cooking machinery (blenders, food processers, etc), or go into freezers and meat coolers.

Individuals under the age of 18 also are not allowed to serve alcohol, and in general should stick to serving only already prepared foods (baked goods, packaged goods) and beverages.

Understand storage & stacking standards

In general, OSHA classifies falling objects as one of the biggest workplace hazards. For this reason, heavy items in restaurant storage areas should be stored at the bottom of shelves, lightest objects on top, and most frequently used items in the middle for easy access.

Furthermore, to prevent the risk of using expired products, older products should be stored up front and newer products toward the back.

Use proper cleaning techniques

Abrasive, chemically-laden cleaners should be avoided for cleaning food prep and cooking surfaces. These kinds of cleaners often leave a chemical film that transfers to the food itself. Restaurant workers should clean surfaces with simple soap and hot water, saving chemical cleaners for floors and exteriors.

Use degreaser sprays to clean stovetops at the end of each workday, so as to lower the risk of a grease fire. For commercial ovens, baking soda and vinegar is all that’s needed. Commercial oven cleaners are toxic, and food residue must be removed to prevent build-up and fire danger.

Keep ventilation & refrigeration in check

Kitchens that quickly become hot and smoky may be suffering from poor ventilation. Poor ventilation in restaurants can cause severe health consequences in employees. Overheating and heat stroke are one major result, as OSHA recommends an optimal workplace temperature of 68-76 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum productivity.

Poor ventilation also increases the likelihood of fires, however, and a warm and humid environment only increases the growth of bacteria – and the attraction to pests. Vent hoods and functional HVAC systems are a must in restaurants, and employees should operate them at all times when cooking.

Refrigeration is also a major factor in food safety, as improperly stored raw meats and perishables can transmit diseases. In restaurants, all refrigerators should be kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal food storage.

Take the certification courses

The ServSafe food service certification course, and alcohol certification courses, are required by most restaurants of their employees. These courses go into the aforementioned points in depth, and even address additional risks you may have not thought of.

As new viruses and strains come into play, these courses keep employees updated on how to prevent their spread. Furthermore, they delve into the basics of pest control and Department of Public Health requirements for managers.

On the outside, it may not seem like restaurants carry abundant safety hazards, but they do. The dangers of improperly handled food and slippery surfaces are equally devastating, so training for all levels of food service employment (from managers to kitchen staff) is fundamental to a restaurant’s success.

Ellie Batchiyska is a writer for TIPS, an online alcohol certification program used by bartenders and servers to ensure the proper service, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
Home Safety Products

Don’t know where to start when you need to do a risk assessment in the kitchen?

Don’t know where to start when you need to do a risk assessment in the kitchen?  Well, here’s what you need to do!

The kitchen is a place which is not only the busiest, but also the most dangerous and life threatening when the appropriate control measures aren’t taken.  A risk assessment is the best way to ensure that the kitchen is a safe place.  It’s not only made mandatory by the law, but also a crucial step in providing protection to your kitchen team, and also a safe working environment for your staff.  Kitchens can be especially hazardous workplaces — so you need to make sure that the assessment is done on point.

Risk assessments help you identify the major potential hazards present in your kitchen and help you focus on those hazards which can cause real pain to your employees.  Once you decide on carrying out an efficient kitchen risk assessment, ACSUK Group will help you with a full risk assessment of your kitchen and have you covered.  It shall help you identify, analyze, and resolve the potential hazards in your kitchen.  Once you decide on the services, you can now start to take the necessary steps to control the risk.

Steps to conduct a risk assessment:

In a perfect kitchen, food delivery is at one end, and finished meals are at the other end.  A risk assessment considers the probability of a hazard and the final consequences in case that hazard occurs.  It will take into consideration what the existing control measures are, and what future measures can be further implemented so as to lower the level of risk as much as possible.  Well, luckily for you, there are quite a few services which offer to carry out efficient risk assessments, as well as industrial cleaning in Manchester.

  •  Hazard identification:  A great starting point is to walk around your kitchen and note down whatever hazards that are common to your view.  These can include slippery floors, burns from exposed heat sources, sharp objects etc.  You should always check on the manufacturer’s’ instructions as they tell you clearly what hazards can take place.  Check up on your past records of incidental accidents and also consider long term health hazards such as chemical impacts.
  • Who is to be harmed:  Now that you have a clear idea regarding what the hazards are, you need to consider next how it can harm an individual.  You need to identify how bad and whom the hazard will impact.  You can ask your staff on this matter, and take into consideration what they think about the hazard. They might offer a separate perspective and help you look into a matter which you otherwise wouldn’t have noticed.
  • Evaluate risks:  Now, you need to pay attention to the risk, and decide if you can eradicate it completely, or lower it down to an unharmful level.  You can do this by options for a less risky alternative, or organizing work in a better way or preventing chances of the hazard or providing first aid or offering protective gear etc.
  • Note down findings:  The next step is to record your significant findings regarding the hazard and how it can harm your people and how to prevent it.  Keeping a written record of your findings shall help you review it in the future.  It shall help you at a later date in cases of changes in the law or business expansion etc.
  • Update assessment:  Workplaces keep on changing and more than you realize, you will be bringing in new changes starting from newer team to newer equipment and process.  This can be the reason of newer hazards propping up, and that’s the reason you need to review it and update the assessment process on a regular basis.  Your records need to be up to date and you need to ask yourself a few important questions.  These questions involve if there are any improvements needed or significant changes that took place, or if workers have noticed any trouble etc.

So, these were the main steps that you need to follow for an efficient risk assessment process.  You need to follow each of these religiously, plan out an effective strategy and make sure everybody in your kitchen is very much involved.

General Safety Issues

TIPS TO MAKE YOUR KITCHEN SAFE (Guest Post)

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There are many reasons why people like to get their kitchens redecorated. Among them is child safety. Plenty of accidents happen in kitchens of homes, and homeowners want to take every possible precaution to ensure that their kids will remain safe in the area. After all, it’s one place that small children and toddlers are bound to end up in a house. If you’re looking to get your kitchen remodelled, following are a few tips you may consider. 

Child-proof locks must be used wisely 

All drawers and cabinets that contain sharp objects like scissors and knives, lighters and matches, medications, cleaning supplies, breakable objects like glass and heavy objects like cast iron skillets must have locks. Apart from keeping dangerous items locked in cabinets and drawers, it also serves as an idea to put hazardous items that aren’t used very frequently in drawers that are not in your child’s reach. 

Baby gates must be used to keep kids out 

Though toddlers and babies may be good to have around, but when you’re cooking, it is safer, and more practical to keep them away from the kitchen. For instance, when there are too many cooks, it is best forchildren to stay out of the area, as more people in the kitchen increases the chances of accidents. Moreover, there may be times when toddlers just make their way to the kitchen and find sharp or dangerous items to play with. The best way to keep them out is to install a baby gate that allows them to look on the other side and interact, but doesn’t let them get past into the thick of the action.  

If you’re busy cooking, and there’s no one to baby-sit, you may place the toddler in a playpen or a high chair inside the cooking area. Playpens and high chairs keep children contained and away from harm, while allowing them to be part of things inside the kitchen. 

Appliances must be used to practice child safety 

Appliances like the refrigerator can be locked using a child-proofing product. Devices that can keep stoves bolted into the wall and keep it from flipping over are also available in the market, in case the kid uses the door of the oven as a step. Small appliances that are not being used must be kept unplugged and the cords must be wrapped up and away from the kid’s reach. For the pots on the stove, make sure that their handles face inward. This is extremely important to ensure that the child doesn’t grab it and pull the pot, and the boiling liquid down onto him/herself. 

There is no doubt that kitchens are inviting and warm rooms in a home, but the fact that many an accident occur in the area cannot be overlooked. Cabinets must be locked, unsafe items must be put in high places and away from children’s reach, baby gates must be used to keep toddlers away from the hazards of the kitchen and appliances must be used to practice child safety and then, you can be assured that your child will be out of harm’s way. 

Penny Cooper is an expert associated with Kingston Cabinets, manufacturers of white oak radiator covers based in London & Handforth (UK). Kingston Cabinets offer a beautiful collection of home radiator cabinets and radiator cover grilles, designed to add style and distinction to every home.

Thank you, Penny, for this good advice on child safety.  Many accidents happen in the kitchen, and most are preventable. pb

 

 

General Safety Issues

BURN AWARENESS WEEK – FEBRUARY 5 THROUGH 11

This is a tough topic to write about, but a far tougher experience when a family goes through seeing their child burned in an accident.  Eighty percent of burn injuries occur in and around our homes.  Most of the time, the victims of these accidents are small children.  And, most of the time, those accidents were preventable.  Anyone who has raised children can verify that you can’t turn your back on a toddler.  

There are five national organizations – the International Association of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation, the American Burn Association Burn Prevention Committee, the Federation of Burn Foundations, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Home Safety Council (now merged with Safe Kids Worldwide) – who have joined forces to create  National Scald Prevention.  This campaign focuses on the high -risk population 0-4 years of age and the senior population.  Also, the Shriners Hospitals for Children has begun its annual Burn Prevention Campaign.  As we said, homes are the sites of thousands of burn injuries to children every year, including scalds and fire-related injuries.  By following basic safety tips, many of these incidents would not have happened.  Shriners Hospitals for Children changes lives every day through innovative pediatric care, world-class research and outstanding medical education.  Twenty-two hospitals in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. 

One type of fire injury that toddlers and children suffer is from touching the glass front of a gas fireplace.  FairWarning report published in 2011 revealed that more than 2,000 children ages 5 and younger have suffered burns from fireplace glass since 1999, according to a federal estimate; however, some burn specialists think the actual toll is higher.  Children’s Hospital Colorado Burn Center reports:

  •          Contact with the glass of gas fireplace doors can result in second or third degree burns.
  •          Burns of the hand can result in hand dysfunction causing long term impairment and disability.
  •          Treatment of burns of the hand are time intensive, costly, painful, and can require long term therapy of the hand.
  •          The glass barrier of a gas fireplace door can heat up to more than 200 degrees F in approximately 6 minutes. 

Every year there are approximately 25,000 burn injuries resulting from scalds.  These injuries are very painful and require prolonged treatment.  The majority of scald injuries are related to hot tap water and cooking accidents.  These are places where we adults have the most control. Adequate and continuous supervision is the most effective way to prevent young children from receiving scald burns.  

The kitchen is the place where children under five are at the highest risk for burns caused by hot fluids.  We must teach our children/grandchildren under age five to not play around the stove or microwave.  Tablecloths and place mats are tempting for children to pull on, which could also cause a spill of hot foods.  Next, the bathroom is the second highest risk area for scald burn injuries in the home.  The temperature of the water that comes from the water heater should be set at a maximum of 120 degrees F.  To test bath water, submerge the hand, spread the fingers and move the hand vigorously in the water.  If the water is uncomfortable to the hand, it is too hot for a child.  Young children’s skin is thinner that adults, therefore there is an increased risk of scalding. 

Children should never be left unattended around burning candles.  Cigarettes, lighters, and other incendiary products should never be where a toddler can get to them.  There could be nothing worse than the guilt of leaving something around where curious little fingers could pick them up and injury occurred.  These tips are also directed to those who care for or are responsible for senior citizens that may be at the point of being left unattended in their homes.  Hundreds of seniors have been seriously burned, or even worse, because they simply forgot that they left something cooking on their stove, until it was too late.  They may not be able to take responsibility for themselves.  Their personal safety should be the responsibility of a close family member, or close friend.  If they have no one to check on them or a caregiver, neighbors should call Family Protective Services or another local organization that can follow up to ensure their safety. 

Please observe Burn Awareness not just this week, but all year long.  Watch out for our “little citizens” and “senior citizens.”