Reduce Risk by Following Kitchen Safety Guidelines

Although servers and customers are subject to potential health and safety hazards in a restaurant environment, many protocols are in place to avoid major disasters. In the kitchen, however, the risks are even higher because of the tools used and processes followed.

Consider the following tips to keep your kitchen staff as safe at those working in the front of the house:

• Fire safety instructions. With grills, gas, and oil fryers, the risk of a fire in a restaurant kitchen is high. It is critical that you train your staff to understand how to safely address situations as they occur. For example, grease fires react differently than other fuel sources and staff must understand how to extinguish these fires. Your team also should know where extinguishers are located and how to evacuate the building in the case of an emergency.
• Proper knife techniques. The risk of cuts resulting from the use of sharp food-prep knives poses another potential danger in the kitchen. Most people you hire to work in the kitchen will have been trained and already should know proper knife techniques as well as how to avoid cutting themselves. In the instance that they do cut themselves, they must be able to locate the first aid kit and know how to correctly wash and dress the wound before continue working.
• Collision prevention. Another risk in a busy kitchen is the potential to run or bump into someone else while handling knives or hot items. Some kitchens have relatively narrow walkways. Train your staff to communicate when they will be walking near other employees so that everyone knows how to avoid potentially dangerous collisions.
• Safe food handling. A list about kitchen safety wouldn’t be complete without addressing safe food-handling techniques. Although your staff should be well aware of these issues, ensure that you enforce the rules that they wash their hands frequently, avoid cross-contamination, and refrigerate all items that need to be kept cold to remain safe.

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