613 Worker Safety in Restaurants

Food Preparation Safety

The food preparation area of a restaurant gives workers a chance to develop skills in culinary art, sanitation principles, and in the use of kitchen equipment. However, they may also be exposed to the following hazards:

• machine guarding
• knives and cuts
• kitchen equipment
• strains and sprains

Machine Guarding

When moving parts have the potential for causing severe workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, machine guarding can eliminate or reduce exposure to these hazards. Machine guards provide essential and required protection for the worker.

Workers who often help prepare foods for restaurants are exposed to power-driven equipment such as commercial dough mixers, choppers, and slicers that may be hazardous if machine guarding is not in place.

Workers can be caught in the rotating blades of the mixer, resulting in strangulations, broken bones, and amputations. Cuts and amputation injuries can also occur when using or cleaning slicers and dicers.

Possible Solutions

Besides machine guarding, there are many other things you can do to protect yourself from power-driven equipment in restaurants:

• Turn off and unplug machinery before cleaning or removing a blockage.
• Get properly trained before using any equipment.
• Ask for machinery to be securely fixed or bolted to benches or tabletops.
• Do not put your hands into the machinery to manipulate food. Use pushers or tongs to move food in machinery.
• Wear proper work clothing. Avoid loose-fitting clothing or jewelry that could catch in the machinery.

Safe Work Practices

Remember to follow the child labor laws that do not allow workers younger than 18 to operate, set up, adjust, clean, oil, or repair power-driven equipment, such as meat slicers or bakery mixers.

Make sure your employer labels equipment young workers are not allowed to operate. The DOL Youth Rules! website has downloadable stickers available to place on the hazardous machinery. The stickers alert all workers no one under 18 years of age may operate the equipment.

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