You’ve developed your HACCP plan and gone over food safety practices, but have you checked to make sure that your commercial kitchen extractor isn’t letting you down when it comes to fire safety standards? If you haven’t recently scheduled a canopy inspection or extractor cleaning, you could quickly be heading for disaster.
As you use your equipment, grease and food particles can build up in your kitchen’s ventilation system. If you aren’t cleaning the extractor regularly, then you’re not just increasing the risk of a kitchen fire – you’re also failing to meet the standards set out in Section 7 of HVCA TR19, which states that the extractor ductwork and ventilation in commercial kitchens needs to be cleaned according to a specific schedule to prevent the risk of fire:-
- Heavy Use (12-16 hours a day): every three months
-
- Moderate Use (6-12 hours a day): every six months
-
- Light Use (2-6 hours a day): every twelve months
By having an engineer carry out an extractor cleaning in your commercial kitchen, you can ensure that you are meeting fire safety standards and following the guidelines set out in HVCA TR19. This will keep you on the right side of the law, protect you from loss of revenue and guard your premises against the risk of a fire – or a shutdown ordered by inspectors.
Similar blogs you may like
Common Kitchen Challenges Caused by Outdated Catering Equipment
Here, we’re exploring both the obvious and the unforeseen challenges that can stem from outdated commercial kitchen equipment. We’ll look at the problems that can arise when your catering equipment begins to show signs of wear and tear, and examine why investing in new equipment is always the best option from a professional catering standpoint.
Cost-saving tips for your catering business
Between high running costs and tighter margins than ever, making sound financial decisions is a daily challenge for catering businesses. But the good news is that being more cost-effective doesn’t have to mean making big changes to how you operate. In fact, it can often come down to checking the basics to make sure you’re working as efficiently as possible.