Restaurant Kitchen Hazards: Slips, Knives, Burns, and Chemicals

Kitchen hazards checklist

A line that “knows the kitchen” still slips on the same grease spot every Saturday. The pass takes about ten minutes. It is a list of conditions you can see, with a name on the fix, before the first ticket.

Slips: the floor has to be dry where people walk

OSHA’s restaurant food-prep eTool points at food and liquid on the floor, and at drain covers that have come loose. The standard it cites, 29 CFR 1910.22, says floors in a workplace are kept clean and dry. Where the work itself is wet, the employer provides drainage and a dry place to stand, such as a mat, when that is practical. Wet-floor warning signs sit under 29 CFR 1910.145.

On the checklist, that becomes three looks:

• The floor at the fryer and the dish pit is dry, degreased, and clear of boxes.
• Mats lie flat, and drain covers sit in the hole.
• The wet-floor sign lives at the station. A sign in the office warns nobody who is holding a mop.

Mop the spill. The sign covers the minutes the floor is still wet. A towel thrown on grease slides with the next shoe, and that shoe is often next to the fryer.

The kitchen cleaning SOP is the sanitation companion. This hazards pass is the walk that confirms the floor is actually safe to cross.

Knives: a blade in the sink is a cut waiting

OSHA’s cleanup eTool says to wash a knife right away or put it in the dishwasher or in a container labeled for knives only. A soapy sink hides the blade. The next hand is looking for a spoon.

Pull dull knives before service. A dull edge slips off the product. Close the slicer guard between cuts, and unplug it when the station is idle. Stock cut-resistant gloves at the board and at the slicer. OSHA’s cooking eTool points to steel mesh or Kevlar for cutting, under the hand-protection rule in 29 CFR 1910.138. A pair stored in the office is out of reach once the board is busy.

The cut glove protects the hand from the blade. Ready-to-eat food still gets a clean hand or a clean disposable glove. A cut glove worn over a dirty towel and then onto a bun is a food-safety failure sitting on top of a safety control.

Burns: fryer oil, handles, and dry mitts

OSHA’s cooking eTool calls deep fryers the leading cause of burns in restaurants. The same page tells cooks to keep pan handles off the front of the range, to use dry mitts, and to keep water and ice out of hot oil. Water in a hot vat flashes to steam and throws oil. A wet mitt conducts heat into the palm. A handle in the aisle catches a bus tub.

Before service:

• Every sauté handle is turned in, over the range.
• Dry mitts hang at the oven, the fryer, and the pass. A mitt with a hole is retired.
• Fryer oil sits inside the fill line. An idle vat has a lid or screen. The discard pot and the filter are free of water. Frozen product gets the ice shaken off before the basket goes in.

Keep oil off the floor. A jug of oil beside the fryer is a slip into the vat. The fryer cleaning SOP covers the boil-out once the oil is cool. This checklist covers the vat while it is hot and in service.

Chemicals: the label, the shelf, and the safety data sheet

OSHA’s cleanup eTool treats oven cleaner, floor cleaner, sanitizer, and dish detergent as hazardous chemicals. The hazard communication standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, requires a written program, labels, training, and safety data sheets employees can read. The eTool is explicit that mixing chlorine and ammonia can release chlorine gas, and that a chemical moved into a spray bottle needs a label on the new bottle.

Walk three things:

• Every spray bottle and jug shows the product name.
• Chemicals sit below and away from food and clean wares. Chlorine and ammonia are stored apart.
• The safety data sheet binder, or the file, opens for the cook on duty without someone’s personal password.

A clear bottle that the closer “knows” is degreaser still fails. The next shift was not there when it was filled. Sanitizer buckets stay off cutting boards. The board is a food-contact surface.

When the hazard is already an incident

This checklist is prevention. Stop using it as the response sheet when:

1. Someone is cut or burned and needs first aid.
2. Oil is on fire, or a chemical mix has people coughing or leaving the line.
3. The power is out and you are deciding what happens to people and to food in the coolers.

Open the emergency procedures checklist. That sheet covers evacuation, calling for help, first aid notes, and manager sign-off. Call emergency services when the injury or the fire is beyond a first-aid kit. Finish the hazards walk after the room is stable, and write what failed so the next pre-shift catches it.

The kitchen SOP guide holds the rest of the line: opening, cleaning, hygiene, and receiving. Print the hazards checklist, walk it before the first ticket, and sign it. The grease spot you mopped stays off the incident log.