The cooking area of a restaurant offers teen
workers an opportunity for developing cooking skills, while learning to
handle equipment, organize tasks, and use creativity. Teen workers in this
area may also be exposed to the following hazards:
Potential Hazard Remember:
Child Labor Laws do not permit employees younger than 16
to cook, except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, and cafeteria serving counters.
Teen workers who cook in restaurants are especially
at risk of
burn injuries while cooking with or cleaning deep fat fryers or vents
above fryers. Burns can occur from
contact with the fryer itself or from hot splashing oil, or when
straining the oil or moving the fryer.
Workers may also be exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning from malfunctioning
exhaust systems on portable fryer units. Symptoms include
headaches, confusion, nausea, and dizziness.
Possible Solutions
Teen Worker
Solutions - Burns
Employers have the primary
responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their
workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work
practices of their employers. Remember:
Child Labor Laws do not permit employees younger than 16
to cook, except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, and cafeteria serving counters.
Non-slip shoe
Class K Fire extinguisher
Use caution when working around hot oil.
Get trained in the proper use and maintenance of your deep fryer.
Observe all safety procedures and wear all protective equipment provided for your use while preparing hot items.
Use gloves and scrapers and other cleaning tools with handles provided by
your employer.
Use the correct grease level and cooking temperatures for your deep fryer.
Keep stove surfaces clean to prevent grease flare-ups.
Avoid reaching over or climbing on top of fryers and other hot surfaces.
Clean vents when oil is cool.
Keep floor surfaces clean and dry
to prevent slipping or falling onto hot surfaces. Wear
slip-resistant shoes. Floors should be cleaned often with
grease-cutting solutions.
Do not work closely to hot fryers when the floor is wet.
Do not spill water or ice into oil. Do not store employee drinks by deep
fryers. They could be easily bumped into the hot oil and
cause a flare-up.
Do not overfill or pour excessive amounts of frozen fries into deep
fryer at one time. Overfilling causes excessive splashing
and bubbling over of hot oil.
Do not pour excess ice from fry packages into the fryer.
Do not overheat the oil; use only manufacturer's recommended cooking temperatures.
Do not move or
strain hot oil containers; wait until the oil is cool!
Do not store oil on floors by grill area. Someone could slip and fall into the oil.
Extinguish hot oil/grease fires by
using a class K fire extinguisher.
Employer Solutions
- Burns
Employers have the primary
responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their
workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work
practices of their employers.
Follow the
Fair Labor Standards Act
that does not permit employees younger than 16 to cook, except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack
bars, and cafeteria serving counters.
Consider implementing recommended safe work practices, including:
Consider replacing older deep fat fryer
models with newer models that have exhaust vents in closer
proximity to the fryer, built-in grease filters, improved
grease-disposal systems, automatic food-lowering devices,
and vat covers.
Use the appropriate quality oil for your fryer. Some employers have found that using higher quality oils reduces the amount of splashing during deep frying.
Install slip-resistant flooring near hot surfaces and cooking
appliances.
For more information see General Hazards
Module - Slips/Trips/Falls.
Employer Solutions
- Burns
Employers have the primary
responsibility for protecting the safety and health of their
workers. Employees are responsible for following the safe work
practices of their employers.
Consider implementing recommended safe work practices, including:
Educate staff and management to recognize and respond to the symptoms of CO poisoning. For more information see:
Carbon
Monoxide Poisoning from Gas Fired Cooking Units in Food
Preparation Locations. Washington State Department of
Labor and Industries, 131 KB
PDF,
2 pages.
Avoid the hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning by training
maintenance staff about the specific procedures needed to
prevent CO poisoning.
Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA
Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine at 202-693-2300
for assistance accessing PDF materials.
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