Cooks and Kitchen Staff: Burns, Cuts and Slips

Kitchen safety is built on everyday tasks

In a commercial kitchen the day begins with receiving deliveries, intensifies with preparation and cooking, peaks at service and ends with washing up and cleaning. Accidents involving cooks cluster at specific points in this flow: a knife slipping while chopping, a pot tipped over under service pressure, a slip on a greasy floor at closing time. That is why kitchen safety is built not from a list of general rules but by looking one by one at the tasks cooks and assistants carry out during the day. The table below summarises this flow for commercial kitchen safety.

Task during the day	Main risk	Key measure
Receiving and storage	Manual handling, cold room, cuts (opening boxes)	Trolley, cold room door that opens from inside, safety box cutter
Preparation and chopping	Knife cuts, slicers and mincers	Sharp knife, secured chopping board, machine guard and pusher
Cooking	Oil splashes, steam, hot pans, gas	Fryer rules, lid-opening technique, pot-carrying routine, gas leak checks
Service	Collisions in crowded areas, hot plates	One-way flow, habit of calling out warnings
Washing up and cleaning	Chemical burns, glass cuts, wet floors	Gloves and goggles, separate broken-glass bin, drying floors
Closing and maintenance	Draining fryer oil, hood filters	Waiting for oil to cool, isolating power, safe stepladder

Factory canteens, contract catering companies, and hotel and restaurant kitchens in Bursa and the surrounding provinces are examples of this table at different scales. For notes specific to hotel kitchens, see our article on OHS in hotels.

Kitchen knife safety and preparation machines

Cuts are among the most common kitchen injuries, and most result from skipping simple rules:

A sharp knife is safer. A blunt knife needs more force and slips. Sharpening is done regularly, and only by someone who knows how.
The chopping board is secured. Placing a damp cloth or a non-slip mat underneath stops the board from sliding.
Knives are not left in washing-up water. A knife hidden in soapy water cuts whoever puts their hand in. Knives are washed separately and stored in their own place.
Never catch a falling knife. Staff are taught to step back rather than reflexively trying to catch it.
Carry it point down. A knife is carried close to the body with the tip pointing at the floor; calling out "behind you, knife" becomes a habit.

Cut-resistant gloves are provided for heavy chopping, boning or mandoline use; for selection criteria, see our article on choosing work gloves. Slicers, mincers and choppers are not used unless the guard, pusher and lid interlock are in place; the plug is pulled before cleaning. Guards removed for hygiene reasons are a leading cause of serious hand injuries. We cover guard types in our article on safety of food machinery.

Burns during cooking: oil, steam and hot pans

Burns usually come not from the cooking equipment itself but from the movements made while working with it:

Fryer. When wet or frozen food is dropped into hot oil, the oil boils over and splashes. Food is drained and the basket lowered slowly; the oil level never goes above the fill line.
Changing oil. Hot oil is never drained; wait for the oil to cool and transfer it into a suitable container with a lid.
Combi ovens and boiling pans. Open the door or lid slightly first and let the steam escape away from the face and arms. Use dry oven cloths for hot trays and lids; a wet cloth conducts heat quickly.
Large pots. A full pot is not carried by one person; use a tilting kettle or a trolley. For back and shoulder strain, see our article on manual handling and lifting.
Hob layout. Pan and pot handles are turned inwards so they do not stick out over the edge of the counter.

Kitchen clothing should be long-sleeved and made of cotton that does not catch fire easily; apron ties and loose sleeves must not hang over the hob. First aid for burns is to cool the burnt area under running water for a long time and cover it with a clean dressing; do not apply ice, toothpaste or oil.

Slips and falls

Kitchen floors become slippery throughout the day with oil, water, flour and food scraps. The basic steps for preventing slips and falls are:

Spills are cleaned up immediately; nobody says "we'll deal with it after service".
Warning signs are put out during wet cleaning, and the area is cleaned in sections.
Drain grates are kept in place and level; broken tiles and lifted metal sheeting are repaired.
Staff are given closed-toe shoes with slip-resistant soles. For the classes, see our article on safety footwear classes.
Icing on the cold room floor and at its entrance is checked separately; the cold room door must be openable from the inside. Details are in our article on working in cold stores.

For general rules on floors and traffic routes, see our article on slips, trips and falls.

Class F fires: responding correctly to a fat fire

Fires caused by burning cooking oils are classed as class F fires. Oil ignites when it reaches its auto-ignition temperature, and putting out the flame on the surface is not enough; unless the oil is cooled, it reignites.

We explain which extinguisher suits which fire in our article on types of fire extinguishers. The Regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings also requires the following for kitchens:

Excluding residences, an automatic suppression system must be installed in the hoods of kitchens inside shopping centres and high-rise buildings, catering factories and kitchens serving more than 100 people at a time, together with gas detection, gas shut-off and alarm installations appropriate to the gas used (Art. 57/1).
Large industrial kitchens using LPG must have a device that detects gas leaks and gives an audible warning (Art. 109/5); LPG cylinders may not be kept in basements (Art. 57/4).

For kitchen staff to actually be able to use the extinguisher and fire blanket, hands-on training is needed; it is advisable to practise a fat fire scenario separately during drills.

Hood and extract duct maintenance

Grease building up in hood filters and the extract duct can carry a small flame from the hob into the duct and up to the roof. That makes hood maintenance a fire prevention task, not just a hygiene one. The regulation requires kitchens to be cleaned at regular intervals and holds the building owner or manager responsible for this (Art. 53/2). It also sets extraction rules for the kitchens of hotels, restaurants, cafeterias and similar premises: the mechanical extract system for cooking areas is independent of systems serving other parts of the building, ducts run at least 50 cm away from unprotected combustible materials, extract air is discharged directly outdoors and fire dampers may not be fitted in kitchen extract ducts (Art. 88/2).

In practice, the following routine works:

Filters are removed and washed at a frequency set according to grease build-up; the frequency is written into the cleaning plan.
Because duct cleaning requires access inside the duct and suitable equipment, it is carried out by a specialist company and recorded.
When removing filters, hobs are switched off and allowed to cool; for high filters, a sturdy platform stepladder is used, not a chair.
Degreasers and oven cleaners are mostly corrosive; use the PPE given in the safety data sheet, namely chemical-resistant gloves and goggles. For how to read the sheet, see our article on the safety data sheet.

Heat and fatigue

Working for long periods at the hob and oven causes heat stress, especially in summer. Effective ventilation, accessible drinking water and short breaks outside peak service hours are the basic measures. Long and split shifts increase fatigue, and fatigue increases the likelihood of cuts and burns; the shift plan is addressed as part of the risk assessment. Hygiene training for food handlers is a separate obligation; see hygiene training certificate.

We plan site inspections and risk assessment for kitchen risks under our OHS specialist service, and hands-on response to fat fires under our fire training. For other risks in the food sector, see our food page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which extinguisher is used for a kitchen fire?

Cooking oil fires are class F, and a wet chemical extinguisher is used for them. For a small pan fire, the air supply is cut off with a lid or fire blanket. Water must never be thrown on burning oil.

Is an automatic suppression system mandatory in the hood?

Under Art. 57/1 of the Regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings, it is mandatory, excluding residences, in kitchens inside shopping centres and high-rise buildings, catering factories and kitchens serving more than 100 people at a time. Gas detection, gas shut-off and alarm installations are also fitted in these kitchens.

Do cooks need cut-resistant gloves?

They are provided according to the risk assessment for high cut-risk tasks such as boning, heavy chopping and mandoline use. Gloves do not replace measures such as sharp knives, secured chopping boards and machine guards.

What reduces slips on kitchen floors the most?

Cleaning up spills immediately, keeping drains and floor surfaces in good repair and wearing shoes with slip-resistant soles are, together, the most effective measures. Warning signs are put out during wet cleaning.