Check Points
Kitchen
hazards
Neil Jones examines the main hazards
facing employees in the catering industry.
n the title sequence of the TV series
MasterChef there is a wonderful
snippet where Monica Galetti
Michel Roux Jrs scary sous chef from
his Le Gavroche restaurant instructs
one of the contestants to: Get that
garnish on the plate NOW! Its as
good a demonstration as any of the
pressures faced by workers in the
hotel and restaurant sector, which
includes (amongst others) bars and
catering businesses, with its constant
need to meet customer demand at
what sometimes might appear to be
all costs.
The sector accounted for around 5% of
all injuries to employees reported under
RIDDOR in 2009/10. These included:
l 1,124 major injuries to employees, a rate
of 65.2 per 100,000 employees
l 4,362 over-3-day injuries to employees
a rate of 252.9 per 100,000 employees
0.7 million working days were lost in
the industry due to workplace injury and
work-related ill health in 2009/10.
In 2009/10, the Labour Force Survey (LFS)
showed that 0.7 million working days were
lost in the sector due to workplace injury and
work-related ill health.
Slips & trips
The highest proportion of reported major
injuries to workers (575) in 2009/10 were
caused by slips, trips and falls on level
ground. The occupations most affected were
kitchen assistants, chefs, and waiting staff.
Slipping on a wet surface (water and other
liquids) or other substance (grease, oil, food)
was responsible for 238 of the major injuries
reported. Tripping over an obstruction
(furniture, small items, work materials, boxes,
waste) accounted for 78 major injuries.
Concerns about the number of slips and
The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal April 2011 11
Check Points
HSE
Crown copyright 2010 Published by the Health and Safety Executive
Simple mistakes can
shatter lives...
visually impaired and the elderly), when
its used and contaminants present.
Consider also how spillages will be
cleaned up between the scheduled whole
floor cleaning.
l Organising the work and consulting with
staff to make sure the planning stage is
implemented.
l Controls to ensure that working practices
and processes are being carried out
properly, for example, that access is
prevented to wet, smooth floors.
l Monitoring and reviewing to identify
any improvements that can be made
to the cleaning system.
Effective training and supervision is essential to make sure the standard of cleaning is
correct. Training should match the individual,
the environment and equipment used. If any
of these factors change, training should be
reviewed. Cleaners should be encouraged to
report any difficulties in carrying out their
work. Floors and equipment should be well
maintained.
MSDs
Free resources and information on preventing slips and trips, including this poster,
second most common type of injury
...your actions could help stop them from [Link]
the hotel and restaurant sector are muscu-
can be downloaded from: [Link]/shatteredlives/
You might think youre doing everything you can to prevent slips in your workplace, but
everyone
couldhas
do aled
lot the
more. Remember:
l Contamination control
falls in professional
kitchens
n
If
you
see
a
spill,
get
it
cleaned up promptly.
v Preventing
contamination
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to produce
n If you spot a trip hazard, make it safe.
l
Choose
the
right
cleaning method
an excellent little
leaflet
Stop
slips
in
kitchens
n Wear shoes with good grip, so you dont slip.
1
- A good practice
guide
which
has a clean and tidy.v Make sure cleaning doesnt introduce
n Help
to keep
your workplace
anSTEP
additional
slip provides
risk
colour-coded chart
where
you can
identify
HSE offers
instant,
practical
guidance including the
tool, which
online tutorials that
Obstacle
the slip risks and
advice
willprevention
help you manage
riskassocimore [Link]
safe andremoval
go to [Link]/shatteredlives
ated with different
types
floorin covering.
This poster
was of
produced
partnership with LACORS A good cleaning system should involve:
l Planning to make sure the correct
For example, both textured and smooth
cleaning regime is chosen for the type
lino or vinyl sit firmly in the red zone on the
of floor, taking into account how the
chart, with the recommendation to replace
floor is used, by whom (for example,
these floor coverings with non-slip ones or,
some people are more at risk such as the
if that isnt possible, to supply staff with
slip-resistant footwear and adhere to a strict
procedure in terms of spillage removal and
cleaning.
The surface with the lowest slip risk (and
therefore appearing in the green zone on the
chart) is safety vinyl, where the surface has
high levels of gritty particles. Even here, a
rigorous cleaning regime is recommended.
The HSE information sheet Slips and trips:
The importance of floor cleaning 2 highlights
the point that people rarely slip on clean
dry floors but that floors in poor condition
and where bad housekeeping is evident are
responsible for most slip/trip injuries at work.
Control measures for the prevention of
slips, trips and falls can be divided into:
l Management systems
12 April 2011 The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal
loskeletal disorders (MSDs), mainly resulting
from lifting and carrying loads, pushing,
pulling and handling materials.
In 2008/09, according to the Labour Force
Survey, 1,200 in every 100,000 employees in
the sector believed they were suffering from
an MSD caused or made worse by their work.
Most of this type of injury can be avoided
by training staff in proper lifting techniques,
by the use of handling aids and by raising
awareness of the risk. In addition, early
detection and reporting of aches and pains
is crucial.
Check Points
A manual handling risk assessment should
look at:
l The handling tasks staff are having to do
l The loads they are lifting
l The environment they are working in
l The individual capabilities of each worker
Staff and safety representatives should be
involved in conducting the risk assessment
and records should be kept of the findings of
the risk assessment and any action taken to
control the risks identified.
Floors in poor condition and where bad
housekeeping is evident are responsible for
most slip/trip injuries at work.
Controlling MSD risks
The first priority is to avoid manual handling
if possible; this might mean re-organising the
layout of the kitchen to avoid unnecessary
stretching or lifting or, for example, the use
of a dishwashing machine.
Tasks should be considered with a view to
reducing the amount of twisting, bending,
stooping, stretching, pushing and pulling
that might be involved. However, there will
be times when the task cannot be avoided
and in these circumstances consideration
needs to be given to whether mechanical
aids such as large mixer bowls on wheeled
dollies, sack trucks and four-wheeled trolleys
could be used.
Dish and pot washing can cause particular
MSD problems as many of the tasks involve
repeated lifting of full dish racks and/or heavy
pots. Back injuries are common because
of stretching across sinks or work surfaces
and it is recommended that dishwashing
machines, conveyors and rollers be used.
Cleaning is also an activity where MSD
injury is a significant risk. Many cleaning
tasks will involve reaching areas which are
relatively inaccessible. Risks can be reduced
by using long handled brushes and choosing
cleaning tools that have soft rubber-like
handles that require less grip force to hold
properly.
Any changes to a work task to avoid or
reduce manual handling must be monitored
to check they are having a positive effect.
If they are not reducing the risk effectively,
alternatives must be considered.
sector, cleaning materials and chemicals and
some food stuffs such as garlic or onions.
Allergic contact dermatitis occurs when
someone has an allergic reaction to an
irritant and become sensitised. In catering,
irritants can include foodstuffs such as
shellfish and flour.
Irritant dermatitis can be exacerbated by
wet work, where hands are immersed in
The catering industry has a high rate of
reported cases of dermatitis.
Irritant contact dermatitis is usually the
result of either a single heavy or prolonged
minor exposure to an irritant, eg. in this
HSE
Skin conditions
water for more than two hours per day or
are washed more than 20 times per day
(particularly in combination with soaps
and detergents). Wet work can be reduced
by automating some processes (such as
peeling), handling food with tongs and/or
buying in ready prepared ingredients.
Washing up can be avoided by using
dishwashing machinery or, alternatively,
using tools for cleaning and pot washing.
The use of gloves for cleaning, food preparation and wet work means the hands are
protected, although the use of gloves should
be accompanied by the correct procedures
such as taking proper glove breaks, washing
the hands before and after glove use, and
using a moisturising cream pre work and at
the end of the working day.
Regular checks for dermatitis should be
made by both the employee and their supervisor. Damaged skin can be more difficult to
clean properly and the affected areas of
The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal April 2011 13
Check Points
Regular checks for
dermatitis should be
made by both the
employee and their
supervisor.
l
l
l
skin can become infected with the potential
to contaminate food. (HSE has produced a
free poster highlighting the importance of
checking skin for signs of dermatitis, see:
[Link]/skin/professional/
[Link])
Thermal comfort
Kitchens are hot environments but,
conversely, kitchen staff can be exposed to
extremely cold temperatures when retrieving
food supplies from large walk-in freezers.
l Kitchens should be provided with good
ventilation systems, whilst cooker hoods
and fume extraction systems need
Resources
l STEP (Slips and Trips eLearning
regular cleaning to maintain air quality.
Where appropriate, air conditioning
should be installed.
l Workers need educating about the
symptoms of heat stress and should be
encouraged to consume regular small
quantities of cool water or non-fizzy soft
drinks and to take their rest breaks in a
cooler environment although not the
walk-in freezers!
Knives
Knife accidents are common in the catering
industry, with most accidents being cuts
to the non-knife hand or fingers. The HSE
has some sensible dos and donts on its
website ([Link]/catering/
[Link]), these include:
l Do train employees in the safe use of
Package) is an interactive learning
tool designed to help employers assess
and manage slip and trip hazards in the
workplace. The tool is free and can be
accessed online at: [Link]/
slips/step/[Link]
l HSEs Manual Handling Assess
ment Chart (MAC) is a web-based
tool, which simplifies risk assessments
by showing how manual handling
tasks can be broken down into their
component parts and scored using a
traffic light system. It helps identify
the riskier elements of a task so that
effort to reduce the potential of injury
can be better targeted. See: www.
[Link]/msd/mac/
14 April 2011 The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal
l
l
knives and safe working practices when
sharpening knives
Use a knife suitable for the task and the
food being cut
Store knives securely after use, eg. in a
scabbard or container
Use protective equipment as required.
For deboning, it is recommended that
a suitable protective glove is worn on
the non-knife hand and a chain mail or
similar apron is worn
Dont leave knives loose on worktop
surfaces where they can be accidentally
pushed off
Use a knife as a can opener
Carry knives while carrying other objects
References
1. Stop slips in kitchens A good practice
guide, HSE. [Link]/slips/
kitchens/[Link]
2. Slips and trips: The importance of floor
cleaning, HSE. [Link]/
pubns/web/[Link]
l HSE statistics
[Link]
public/[Link]?RID3
[Link]
public/[Link]?RID7
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