How To Keep Your Kitchen Staff Safe

The biggest concern in running a restaurant business, aside from serving good food, is keeping the kitchen safe. Safety includes keeping the kitchen sanitary so the food will be safe for the restaurant’s clients. Nonetheless, it also means keeping the kitchen staff safe from the potential safety hazards present in any industrial kitchen.

Preventing Accidental Slips And Falls

Food service flooring is especially prone to accidents; the kitchen traps heat and moisture that then trickles to the floor. Spills from sauces, soups, and other liquids used in cooking can drip on the floor making it sticky and slippery. To prevent this, keep the kitchen floor clean and free from clutter.

Devise a cleaning schedule that the staff has to follow. Apply slip-resistant coating to the floors and regularly apply grease remover. Make sure that if there is a spillage, have the staff clean it immediately to prevent accidents.

Kitchen Tools And Equipment

Kitchens are filled with knives, slicers, and other cooking tools and utensils. Knives should be kept sharp and in their proper storage areas. Train the kitchen staff to handle knives properly, how and where to store them, as well as how to clean them.

Knives should always have their edges covered when not it use to prevent accidental cuts. Automated slicers should be used only by especially trained staff.

Fire And Burn Prevention

When there is a kitchen, there most surely is a fire. Have proper procedures in place to prevent fire-related accidents. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher unit inside the kitchen. Have proper orientation when it comes to turning on the fire alarm; know what it sounds like, and how to use the fire extinguisher.

To prevent hostile fires, establish rules in handling fire in the kitchen. This may include procedures in using ovens and stoves, using any materials near it, and taking care of cords and outlets that such cooking equipment are connected to.

Kitchen also means hot food, hot plates, hot pots and pans. Train the kitchen staff to recognize whether cooking implements may cause a burn. Make potholders accessible to everyone in the kitchen. Train kitchen personnel to handle cooking appliances such as deep fryers, steam-jacketed kettles, and pressurized water heaters, among others.

Chemicals Used In The Kitchen

Cleaning the kitchen may involve a number of chemicals. To prevent any untoward incident, make sure the chemicals are kept in a safe place. Follow the instruction on proper usage of particular chemical compounds. Don’t mix them together unless the procedure specifically provides so. Consult the label for proper disposal procedures of used chemicals and containers.

Wear proper protective clothing when handling chemicals. If the chemicals have a particular noxious odor, use them only in well-ventilated areas. Provide proper storage areas for the chemical, separate from any food product, cooking tools, and cooking appliances. Store volatile chemical compounds away from hot kitchen appliances or stoves.

Train the kitchen staff in handling potentially hazardous chemicals according to the Hazard Communication Standard of the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration.