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
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- Moderate Use (6-12 hours a day): every six months
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- 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.
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