Risk Management

Food for Thought

When an alleged bout of food poisoning struck Tottenham Hotspur Football Club players recently, the restaurant accused of causing the incident was threatened by the club with a claim for £10m.

An increasing number of meals are eaten away from home, enhancing the opportunity for outbreaks of food-borne illness. Conditions such as arthritis, meningitis, autoimmune disorders, renal failure and hepatitis can arise from a food-borne illness.

• There are currently at least 200 recognised agents that may harm when ingested in food, including microbes and chemicals.
• From 1996 to 2000, more than 1.7 million cases of food-borne disease were documented in England and Wales, resulting in 21,997 hospitalisations and 687 deaths.
• 4% of all reported illness were cases in which humans, food handlers were considered to be the cause of infection.

How clean is your kitchen

A greasy restaurant or hotel kitchen does no favours for the reputation of an establishment's cuisine, but that is the least of its worries if the lack of cleanliness extends to its extraction ducting. Poorly maintained kitchen ducting may lead to fires caused by grease and oil build-up. Such cases cross the desks of insurance claims departments every week.

Consequences of a fire occurring in the extraction ducting can be devastating - not only to property but to the lives of occupants and fire-fighters. In addition, business interruption costs can be significant as a kitchen out of action is catastrophic to a hotel, restaurant or licensed premises. Deposits of grease can ignite and fire can spread rapidly throughout the entire ducting system.

"Extraction ducting is considered 'out of sight, out of mind'"

Legislation on an appointed 'responsible person' basis.

The responsible person has a legal duty to carry out fire risk assessments and take steps to reduce potential hazards. There are a large number of kitchen extraction systems in the UK that are unsafe, and ignorance and cost sensitivity are chiefly responsible in many cases.

Prosecution will follow any fire where the owner of the premises has not complied with the law.

Many insurance policies contain specific conditions relating to regimes of kitchen extraction cleaning. If a fire occurring within the extraction system can be shown to be associated with inadequate cleaning, then it could jeopardise the right to indemnity for loss or damage.

Different cooking styles create different grease residues. For example, oriental cooking creates syrup-like grease that becomes strongly affixed to metal surfaces and is highly resistant to scraping or ordinary cleaning chemicals. Meat cooked with solid fuel creates a lot of grease that eventually becomes heavy black carbon attached to metal surfaces.

Oil and fat are generally safe at temperatures below 200 degrees C but beyond that flammable vapours are present, which spontaneously ignite at between 310 degrees C and 360 degrees C.

In assessing risk, ignition hazards must be considered. These include cooking equipment left unattended or not switched off after use; poor maintenance; flames, sparks or hot gases from cooking, which can ignite combustible deposits inside extract ducts; overheated oils; overheating caused by hardened grease when restarting seasonal or part-time catering establishments; faulty thermostats; the use of burning paper to light tandoori ovens; and the absence of safety shut-off devices in appliances.

Ducting equipment itself presents additional risks, such as the design of the extract ventilation including length of ducts, fan types and the number of access panels. Sometimes ducts are completely inaccessible - even routed inside chimney breasts in some older buildings - or may be unsuitable for the kitchen environment or have insufficient access for inspection and cleaning.

Paper napkins and other waste can be inadvertently left in cooker hoods or inside the extract ducting, all of which are potentially combustible.

Different types of grease filters can be used to reduce the amount of grease passing into ductwork, so awareness of the pros and cons of mesh, baffle, cartridge, water-wash and cold mist systems is essential.

Ductwork should reach the atmosphere by the shortest, most direct route and with the minimum number of bends. Kitchen extraction ductwork should also remain separate from other ventilation systems and be contained in a separate outer duct if passing through other parts of a building - the duct's fire resistance must be consistent throughout.

Long hours and late finishes for people working in the catering trade can affect the thoroughness of cleaning. Training can help - adequate training should include understanding the risks of grease in the ductwork; knowing how to use commercial cleaning chemicals; knowing how to isolate the extractor fan; familiarity with cleaning method and frequency for grease filters; switching off appliances individually rather than at the mains; reporting of faulty controls and sensors; fighting of cooking fires and understanding fire detection and extinguisher systems; and safe handling of oils, fats and cooking appliances.

The cleaning and inspection regime of the surfaces of all cooking equipment hoods, filters, ductwork and fans is critical. A fire suppression system can protect people and property.

Fire extinguishers are preferable, giving a greater level of cooling, sealing the oil surface and preventing re-ignition. Finally, keeping records of training and maintenance is essential. Should there be a fire or accident, these records may provide the only defence against criminal prosecution.

September 2007