Restaurants and other places that serve food have a lot going on, and it could be dangerous if a plate gets dropped or a stove is left on. In commercial kitchens, workers use dangerous tools like commercial stoves, grills, and deep fryers, which can cause severe burns.
As in most businesses, some hospitality industry employees work part-time or have little experience, making it more likely that they will get hurt seriously.
This article discusses how important health and safety are in the kitchen and ensuring they follow strict rules or procedures.
What Is Food Health & Safety?
Health and safety laws say you have a duty of care to your employees. Several things could hurt your employees in the kitchen. There are a lot of risks to deal with when you have a kitchen and wait staff running back and forth all day in small spaces.
All of these make it more likely that something bad will happen and make it worse when it does. The kitchen’s health and safety rules in a normal workplace will differ from those in the catering business. But some are true for everyone.
First, you should do a thorough risk assessment that looks at all possible dangers. Someone who knows what they’re doing should be in charge of health and safety in your organization.
Why Is Kitchen Safety & Health So Important
Clean the surfaces where you often cook to keep food and grease from building up. Don’t put curtains, towels, or pot holders on hot surfaces.
Keep solvents and cleaners that can catch on fire away from heat sources. Don’t keep gasoline in your home. Turn pan handles inward to keep food from spilling and children from getting to them.
Top Safety And Healthy Tips That You Can Use When Cooking In Ther Kitchen
Working in kitchens may be risky at times. Gas and electrical appliances, hot surfaces, poisonous materials, and sharp items exist.
Here are some health and safety guidelines that must be observed in the kitchen to keep everyone safe.
Wear safe clothing
Don’t wear long, baggy clothes or jewelry that hangs down when you’re cooking. If you leave something hanging out, it could catch on a pot of boiling water or an open flame on the stove.
The best tops have sleeves that fit well or none at all. As a safety measure, keep any synthetic or flammable clothes out of the kitchen.
Wear shoes
You do not want your feet exposed when anything like this occurs. It would help if you kept your feet covered by wearing shoes in the kitchen.
Keeping them contained will protect you from flying debris, shattered glass, boiling water, or oil spills.
Wash hands
You would think this would be plain sense, yet many individuals overlook this. Before and after cooking, wash your hands with warm, soapy water. To dry your hands after, try using paper towels.
When drying your hands with dish towels that may have had raw meat or juice residue from cleaning the dishes, you risk getting food poisoning. If you are working in a kitchen with a working space, you can make yourself aware of your team’s regards on. For that, you can share some posters or other visual media using flyer marketing in your kitchen space. It can be done in any kitchen. Doing this will build awareness of the essentiality of maintaining health and safety tips in the kitchen.
To prevent cross-contamination, always wash your hands before handling any food, and after handling raw meat or poultry, wash them again before handling any items. After cooking, remember to clean the sinks and kitchen counters.
Use different chopping boards.
Using the same cutting board to make cleaning up later easier is a good idea, but you should do something other than this. Using the same cutting board for meats, vegetables, and fruits is a surefire way to get salmonella poisoning and make the whole family sick.
When chopping raw meat, poultry, or seafood, it is recommended to use a separate cutting board from the one used for chopping fresh fruits and vegetables.
If you have to use the same cutting board for fruits and vegetables, it is better to cut them first, thoroughly wash the board with soap and hot water, and then cut the meats.
Use hot pads
Have plenty of oven mitts and hot pads on hand. Any appliance bowl, pot, or pan should always be used with them. Use these materials on dishes you are removing from the microwave oven. It’s simple to burn yourself using even microwave-safe dishes since they may become extremely hot.
Additionally, wait until a hot pad or oven mitt has dried off before using it. Heat will readily be transmitted through a damp pad or cloth.
Don’t rush
Rushing around the kitchen almost guarantees that something will go wrong. Unless you’re an expert, cut food slowly, don’t run from station to station, and move hot pots and pans slowly. It is especially worth being responsible for frozen food options when stocking food.
If you need to go to the doctor, those few minutes you saved here and there won’t matter. Also, don’t try to bake or cook if you’ve been drinking, taking drugs, or are tired.
Sanitize surfaces
Before and after each usage, thoroughly scrub your tables and surfaces with hot, soapy water. If you are cutting up meat, poultry, shellfish, or eggs, you should sanitize the cutting surfaces with a bleach and water solution that is not too strong.
Learn how to use knives
Learn how to wield a knife properly and treat it with the utmost reverence. Knives should have a razor-like edge at all times. A dull knife might cause you to slip and hurt yourself.
Master the art of chopping and slicing like a professional chef by holding the food in your less dominant hand with your fingers curled under. Take it easy until you feel comfortable, and make sure you’re constantly paying attention.
When lifting, know your limits.
One of the most hazardous procedures in the kitchen is lifting a boiling pot of pasta since it may easily cause burns. Purchase a pasta cooker that resembles a colander placed into a bigger pot.
Instead of carrying a heavy pot of boiling water from the stove to the sink, all you have to do to drain the pasta is pull it out of the water and set it on a colander.
When lifting, bend at the knees and the back, and be aware of your physical limitations. If you need to carry or shift anything large, ask for assistance.
Use equipment properly
When workers utilize machines and tools in the workplace, they should always take the appropriate safety measures and never take shortcuts. And never use the equipment for a purpose other than what it was designed for. When this is done, the possibility of being hurt on the job is drastically reduced.
Understand the risks
Every workplace is different, and these differences will vary from one industry to the next and from one job site to the next. Workers need to understand the risks of their jobs to take the right steps to avoid getting hurt, especially if they are working with dangerous tools or in a dangerous place.
Bottom Line
You and your family may prevent mishaps and food poisoning by being aware of the potential dangers in the kitchen and exercising caution while handling and cleaning food.
Although these precautions seem time-consuming, they can keep you healthy, avoid accidents, and soothe your mind. The first concern for commercial food service companies should be health and safety. On the other hand, trying iron food recipes in your home kitchen will also benefit your family members.
Determine possible risks, hold frequent training sessions, and outfit your workers with safety gear. Additionally, potentially life-threatening injuries may be avoided by following safety protocols and taking the appropriate safeguards.
