Kitchen Extraction Cleaning – By Ingot Services

Kitchen Extraction Cleaning – Five Reasons Why This Is Vital

With most daily commercial kitchen cleaning, you are clearing away dirt you can see – for instance, ensuring surfaces, walls and sinks are spotless. However, there is also dirt in areas you can't see where cleaning is equally crucial, including kitchen extraction. Ductwork from cookers or ovens in a pub or restaurant can easily be forgotten, but allowing grease to build up in these areas is dangerous for a number of reasons. 

Here we look at just some of the reasons why regular kitchen extract cleaning is vital for all food businesses.

1. Fire Risks: A fire at a fish and chip shop in south Essex was just one recent incident caused by build-up of grease in ductwork, showing the risks. Fire services across the country are called to many similar blazes every year. Grease and oil are highly combustible, so if deposits are allowed to build up in kitchen ductwork they can easily catch fire. By law, extract systems need to be included in fire risk assessments and action must be taken to minimise any risk posed – and that means regular cleaning is essential. 

2. Bacteria Risks: As well as the fire risk, if grease builds up in kitchen extracts it can provide a breeding ground for bacteria. This could cause food poisoning and pose a potential danger of airborne infections spreading to both staff and customers. Cleaning surfaces and equipment rigorously won't prevent bacteria spreading into the area from uncleaned ductwork.

3. Regulatory Compliance: There is a whole raft of regulation covering safe operation of commercial kitchens, and extract systems are included in regular inspections. Even if the worst doesn't happen and the build-up of grease in your extract systems doesn't cause a fire or an outbreak of food poisoning, inspectors are likely to take a dim view of the fact that you have allowed this risk to occur. The result could be a shutdown or even prosecution.

4. Insurance Conditions: If a fire occurs in ductwork that has not been cleaned, your insurer could argue that the fire was due to your negligence. Many insurance companies now set stipulations for regular cleaning by a specialist commercial cleaning contractor as a condition of cover, and require evidence that this is being carried out.

5. Performance of Equipment: If you let your extract systems get clogged up they won't perform so well, meaning there is a risk of breakdown and of parts wearing out more quickly. Keeping equipment clean and performing properly will also keep down energy costs – which is yet another reason for proper cleaning of all kitchen equipment and fixtures, including air duct systems.

Although a lot of daily kitchen cleaning can be carried out by your own staff, this doesn't apply to ventilation duct cleaning. It's essential to have this work done by professionals with the specialist training and knowledge, in order to ensure that it is carried out properly and satisfies regulatory and insurance requirements.

Ingot Services has more than 25 years of industrial cleaning and specialises in kitchen extraction cleaning. We provide reliable and expert services to businesses across the country, including customers in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bristol and Manchester.

Kitchen Deep Cleaning – Advice for Caterers

Kitchen Deep Cleaning – How Can Caterers Guard Against Food Poisoning Risks?

Food poisoning is one of the major worries for all caterers, so it's vital to put measures in place to guard against the risk, including kitchen deep cleaning. It's estimated there may be as many as a million cases every year in the UK. Although most of those affected might just suffer a stomach bug, some end up in hospital and research studies have found that bouts of food poisoning can have damaging long-term effects.

The risk to health is of course the most serious concern, but there is also a danger to your business. If a case is traced back to your restaurant, you could face fines and a temporary shutdown, as well as suffering bad publicity. 

All food businesses need to meet various hygiene regulations, undergoing regular inspections. By showing that your premises are spotless, you will gain a top hygiene grading, helping to attract customers. If you need advice on how to improve your kitchen cleaning practices, expert commercial cleaning contractors can help.

Handling Poultry

Bacteria in raw poultry is one of the most common reasons for food poisoning outbreaks in Britain.

The Food Standards Agency estimates around 280,000 cases a year are due to the bacteria campylobacter, with the vast majority being down to unsafe handling of contaminated poultry. 

The FSA has recently been raising awareness of the dangers and how to avoid them, by launching its 'Chicken Challenge', aimed at both businesses and individuals. It is urging anybody handling chicken to store it covered and separate from other foods and keep it chilled, at the bottom of the refrigerator. It must then be cooked thoroughly.

Other key advice is not to wash raw chicken, which only ends up spreading bacteria, but to ensure thorough cleaning of everything which has come in contact with the poultry, including kitchen equipment and surfaces. 

Safe Kitchen Practice

As well as safe handling of poultry, constant vigilance against the risks of cross-contamination in general is needed. This means keeping raw foods separately from cooked ones and cleaning and disinfecting all cooking and preparation equipment and surfaces before use. Washing hands both before food preparation and after touching any raw foods is another must. 

Cooking and chilling are two other key areas for safe practice. All food must be cooked properly so that it is piping hot right through. Cooked food needs to be cooled as quickly as possible before it is put in the fridge. If you have chilled products delivered to your restaurant, their temperature needs to be checked on delivery. Food which needs chilling must be put straight into the fridge and kept out for as little time as possible during preparation. Your fridge must also be kept at a safe temperature. 

Thorough Cleaning

A daily cleaning regime is essential in all areas where food is prepared, including cleaning as you go, with attention to both surfaces and equipment. However, daily cleaning alone is not enough. There will be some hidden areas you can't get to and some cooking equipment, such as an industrial oven, may need to be partly dismantled to enable thorough cleaning.

Regularly scheduled kitchen deep cleaning is therefore essential to ensure you are cooking and preparing food in a safe environment. You also need to arrange regular ductwork cleaning, since kitchen ventilation will contain a build-up of grease you can't see but which, if neglected, could grow bacteria and contaminate food.

Ingot Services can provide customers in Suffolk, Essex, Liverpool, London and across the UK with one-off deep kitchen cleaning or regularly scheduled deep cleans, as required. Our services will give you confidence that your kitchen complies with all official standards on hygiene and food safety.

Kitchen Deep Cleaning  – Follow the link or call us now on 0800 731 7892 for details of our services.