KITCHEN SAFETY PREVENTING HAZARDS IN THE KITCHEN

Cooking Food Never leave food cooking on your stove or in your oven left unattended. Designate someone to watch the food and stay in the lab kitchen once food starts to cook on top of the stove. When finished with the stoves, ovens and appliances: Turn off stoves and appliances promptly when you are finished using them. Unplug electrical appliances when they are not in use.

Keep Appliances Clean Built up grease on stoves and appliances catches fire easily. Wipe appliance surfaces after spills and clean stove top surfaces and ovens regularly. Note: We have a special cleanser for the glass stove tops: Cook Top – Glass Cook Top Cleaner. Do not use anything else to clean stovetops.

Be Alert Watch for hazards as you work. You can catch hazards before they occur if you observe while cooking. Be attentive while in the lab units Look around you Observe what everyone is doing Note whether someone is watching the stove when something is cooking

Clothing Clothing can catch fire if it touches a hot burner. Avoid wearing: Loose sleeves - these can dangle too close to hot stove burners and catch fire. Heavy jackets – these add bulk and limit your mobility Hats – these can fall off in the food

Preventing Fires Keep things that burn away from the stove top and oven area (cooking area) and any hot appliances. Do not place pot holders or paper products near the cooking areas. Grease and oil can ignite easily and burn rapidly so clean up a spill or if drips run down the sides of a pan. Make sure cooking surfaces are clean prior to turning on stove top burners.

Fires on Top of the Stove Never pour water on a cooking fire. If a fire erupts in a pan on top of the stove: Quickly and carefully cover the pan with a lid or a larger pan – to cut off the oxygen (the fire will die out naturally), Remove the pan from the heat source (hot burner). Keep the lid on until completely cooled. Turn off the heat source (burner)

Fires in the Oven If a fire starts in the oven: Close the oven door immediately Turn off the heat source. This will cut off the oxygen and smother the flames.

Do Not Overload Electrical Outlets Plugging in too many kitchen appliances into the same electrical outlet or circuit could overload, overheat or cause a fire.

Operate Microwaves Safely Only use one microwave in class at a time so you do not overload the circuit Announce when one is in use Use pot holders when removing food from microwaves ovens. Microwave ovens stay cool, but what’s cooked in them can be very hot. Cover food with paper towel to prevent messy clean ups from splattering food

Turn Pot Handles Inward A pot handle sticking out over the edge of your stove can be bumped in passing. Prevent burns and hazards by always turning pot handles in toward the back of the stove

Heat Oil Slowly Heat cooking oil slowly over low to moderate heat and never leave hot oil unattended. If a pan with oil is smoking, remove pan from heat. This is a sign it is too hot.

First Aid for Burns Run cool water over a burn for 10 to 15 minutes. This will minimize skin damage and ease the pain. Go see the school nurse.

Stop, Drop and Roll If your clothing catches fire, do not run. Stop where you are Drop to the ground Cover your face with your hands, and Roll over and over to smother the flames. If someone else’s clothes catch fire, gently get them to the ground and roll them over and over to smother the flames.

Safety Sense Never leave an oven door open and unattended. Do not allow cords to dangle over the edge of counter tops. Do not overload electrical circuits. Unplug appliances when not in use. If an appliance smells odd when plugged in, does not function properly or has frayed or broken wiring/cord, do not use it.

Safety Sense Keep knives out of dish water in sink, place on the side of sink. The only person that should be placing knives in the sink is the person with dishwashing duty! All pot handles should be turned inward while cooking. Keep oven mitts and pan lids easily accessible while cooking.