When you’re busy trying to get dishes out the

door, it’s easy to overlook kitchen hazards.

But a hectic kitchen makes you more
vulnerable to risks, so you must keep
hazards at the forefront of your mind.
Reducing hazards to a minimum allows you
and your co-workers to stay safe, work at full
efficiency, and provide your diners with top
quality service.
Common Kitchen Hazards
Hazards in commercial kitchens often relate to
food preparation equipment, manual handling,
the way stock is stored, and the cleanliness of
the environment.
But in truth, most if not all hazards are created
by people.
 1. MANUAL HANDLING
• Carrying, lifting, pushing, and other manual
handling manoeuvres can, if not done safely,
seriously harm the body’s musculoskeletal
system.
• The Health and Safety Executive reports that
over 30% of food and drink industry injuries
are mainly musculoskeletal injuries caused by
manual handling.
 HAZARDOUS MANUAL
HANDLING TASKS INCLUDE:

• Lifting boxes and crates of food.

• Pushing or pulling wheeled racks (such as trolleys).
• Carrying pots or stacks of plates.
• Moving equipment.
• Handing containers of drinks (including casks and
kegs).
• Unloading food and drink deliveries.
• Cutting and deboning (meat and poultry).
• Reaching for items on shelves or in walk-in fridges.
 TO MINIMISE MANUAL
HANDLING HAZARDS, YOU
SHOULD:
• Keep the load close to your body, with the heaviest side facing
yourself.
• Get a good grip of the load and adopt a stable position.
• Know your limits – if a load is too strenuous, don’t push yourself.
Loads should never exceed 25kg.
• Adopt a good posture – keep your back straight and avoid
twisting or leaning.
• Clear away obstacles or wet patches on the route beforehand.
• Make use of manual handling equipment, such as trolleys and
keg trucks. Be sure to follow their instructions for safe use.
• If your job involves a great deal of lifting and
carrying, your employer should provide you with
manual handling training, which should fully cover
proper techniques.
 2. SLIPS, TRIPS, AND FALLS

Kitchens often have numerous

slip, trip, and fall risks created
by human error, meaning you
and others need to focus
closely on proper safety
practices and housekeeping.
 SLIP, TRIP, AND FALL HAZARDS
INCLUDE:

• Floor contamination, such as spillages of water,

sauces, oil, and flour.
• Wet floors from cleaning.
• Obstructions in walkways, including trailing cables,
boxes and crates, bins, cleaning equipment, etc.
• Uneven, worn down, or loose flooring.
• Using a ladder to access high pantry shelves.
• Standing in a truck to unload deliveries.
Preventing floor contamination is
critical as people are constantly
moving around on their feet,
sometimes while transporting hot
food that could spill onto them if they
fell.
• To minimize slip, trip, and fall hazards, you should:
• Carry out good housekeeping – clean spillages and
move obstructions out of walkways right away.
• Take extra care while cleaning – avoid leaving
puddles behind and make sure the cleaning materials
you’re using are correct for the type of floor in your
kitchen. Dry mop where possible to eliminate slip
risks altogether.
• Keep cables out of walkways – use the nearest plug
socket for appliances.
• Report any issues with the flooring or work activities
that are generating hazards when they shouldn’t, for
example leaking equipment.
• Use ladders in accordance with safety
instructions – rest ladders on a firm, level surface
and only use them for up to 30 minutes. Do not lift
more than 10kg up a ladder.
• Avoid accessing heights without a suitable
ladder – chairs and shelves are unsafe to stand
on.
• Carry out deliveries with a co–worker – working
with someone minimises the amount of times you
have to step on and off the back of a truck and
put yourself at risk of falling.
 3. IMPROPER STORAGE

If not properly stored in

shelves and fridges, objects
could fall from height onto
people, while food could
become unsafe to use over
time.
• To store correctly, you should:
• Store heavy items no higher than waist height and don’t
overstock shelves.
• Use a FIFO food storage system.
• Use a stepladder if you must access higher shelves, so you
don’t have to reach above your head. Follow ladder safety
rules.
• Follow your food safety and hygiene training.
• Know how to store food in the fridge safely: ready-to-eat food
on the top; raw meat, poultry, and fish on the bottom; and
fruits and veg in the bottom drawer. Keep food in containers
for further separation, and don’t overload the fridge.
• Check best before and use-by dates on stock regularly.
• Keep allergenic ingredients well away from non-allergenic
ones.
• Ensure the temperature of the fridge is between 0-5°c and the
freezer is below -18°c.
 4. FIRE AND ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

•You regularly use electrical

equipment and naked flames in a
kitchen. Fire and electricity are
serious dangers; they can cause
burns and shocks or even ignite a
fire.
 TO MINIMISE FIRE AND ELECTRICAL
HAZARDS, YOU SHOULD:
• Keep an eye out for sources of ignition and fuel – remove
cardboard boxes, packaging, and flour (with wet cleaning to
prevent creating a combustible cloud).
• Take extreme care when working around naked flames or
electric stoves – keep flammable materials away from
sources of heat and remember to wear a suitable chef’s
jacket.
• Check appliances and equipment’s cables and plugs for signs
of damage – such as fraying, dents, cracks, exposed wires, or
burn marks. Also listen out for any unusual sounds.
 TO MINIMISE FIRE AND ELECTRICAL
HAZARDS, YOU SHOULD:
• Clean up spilled chemicals immediately – use-non-flammable
materials to do so.
• Use electrical equipment and appliances only for their intended
purpose – follow all training provided to you.
• Keep electrical appliances away from water and do
not overload socket outlets.
• Never attempt to repair electrical equipment yourself – if it appears
faulty or has stopped working, take it out of use and report it to senior
staff ASAP.
• Turn off all electrical equipment, stoves, and ovens at the end of the
work day and when cleaning.
• These lists of kitchen hazards and
preventative measures are far from
exhaustive, but they give you useful
know-how for preventing the most
common dangers you might face in a
commercial kitchen and they increase
your awareness. Your safety-conscious
mind-set will help you spot all types of
hazards while at work.