Are you up to date with your commercial kitchen rules and regulations?
Making sure your commercial kitchen is functioning safely and effectively is not only good for your business, staff and customers – it’s also a legal requirement.
But where do you start with your commercial kitchen rules and regulations and what do you need to consider?
First, check with your local council and health authorities as they can differ depending on your location. Second, read our helpful blog where we’ve listed the key areas and the requirements you need to cover. This will help you avoid potential breakdowns as well as possible fines or prison sentences.
Check your extraction and ventilation
Your ventilation system is usually hidden away and therefore often forgotten. But kitchen equipment generates a lot of cooking fumes, heat, and residue, which can cause blockages and lead to major issues. You need to ensure:
- There is a fully functioning ventilation system
- Equipment is free from any grease, dust, or dirt build-up
- Equipment is accessible and easy to clean
- Equipment is vibration-free
- You align with The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
Find out more about our ventilation and extraction services.
Be safe with gas
Gas equipment can make up a big part of your kitchen, so it needs to be functional and meet safety. You can do this by:
- Ensuring equipment is CE marked
- Ensuring that all equipment is installed and maintained by engineers who are Gas Safe registered
- Having up-to-date certificates for installation, services or maintenance
- Abiding to British standards by installing Natural Gas and Interlock systems that ensure gas moves safely; reducing the risk of leaks or accidents
- Arranging annual gas safety checks by qualified engineers
- Aligning with The Gas Safe (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
Find out more about our gas safety inspections.
Know your fire safety plan
If you’re not careful, or prepared, there are a lot of potential fire hazards within a commercial kitchen. You can prevent many of these with some simple precautions:
The full list of our checks can be seen below:
- Have a fire safety plan including escape routes and safety points
- Keep exits clear at all times
- Install appropriate safety equipment such as fire blankets or extinguishers
- Ensure safety equipment is checked regularly
- Align with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The right refrigeration
Storing, chilling and freezing food correctly is an important part of your kitchen – it prevents waste and avoids food poisoning, protecting your staff and customers. Food needs to reduce in temperature from 70 degrees to 3 degrees within 90 minutes to maintain flavour, texture and avoid bacteria contamination. So, you need to ensure it is functioning correctly.
Although your refrigeration is covered by the F Gas Regulations 2007/2015, which helps reduce environmental damage caused by leaking gases, it’s ultimately up to you and your staff to include regular checks within your maintenance plan and raise any issues.
Find out more about our commercial refrigeration services.
Check your electrical equipment
This covers a lot of your kitchen equipment – think microwaves, blenders, food processors and more. UK legislation states electrical equipment must be in a safe condition but this comes down to the responsibility of you and your staff too. Each piece of equipment needs to be tested to make sure it’s safe for use, which involves:
- PAT testing, including a visual inspection and comprehensive check using PAT testing equipment
- Testing earth continuity, lead polarity and insulation resistance checks
- Ensuring there is a ‘passed’ sticker on passed equipment
Looking after your equipment
An easy way of keeping on top of your commercial kitchen equipment and therefore making sure you’re meeting the correct regulations, is through regular maintenance. You can achieve this by:
- Putting a maintenance and cleaning schedule into place
- Arrange regular checks from a qualified engineer
- Clean pieces of equipment correctly
- Fix any faulty or low-performing pieces of equipment
- Have any repairs completed by a qualified engineer
Find out more about our preventive maintenance packages to see how we can help
Other considerations
We’ve listed the main areas you need to consider when meeting commercial kitchen rules and regulations. But it doesn’t stop there, you also need to consider:
- Food hygiene – ensure food is cooked and stored correctly
- Regular cleaning – including all food preparation areas and equipment
- Personal hygiene – of staff members, including correct uniform
- Waste disposal – providing suitable facilities so waste can be disposed of properly
- Energy-saving – finding alternative ways to reduce your impact on the environment
- Health and safety – preventing any possible hazards such as trips, slips or cuts
- Staff training – ensure everyone is up-to-date with compliance training
How can Midland’s Catering Equipment help?
There’s already a lot to think about when running a commercial kitchen, and with rules and regulations constantly changing, it’s hard to keep on top of everything. Our wealth of experience and expert engineers can help you keep your kitchen functioning effectively, to all the necessary guidelines. Want to know more?
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