Commercial kitchens have strict rules and regulations in place that determine the type of set-up they have for food preparation, cleaning and waste disposal. This ensures that all commercial kitchens are in adherence with relevant food safety laws to protect the public. And they are one of the first things that get checked during any type of kitchen inspection.
And this is an area that people can get wrong pretty quickly, especially if this is their first kitchen or they are not experienced in this area and are setting up a kitchen as part of a larger operation, i.e. in a new hotel that has other focuses too.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the mistakes businesses can make when setting up food preparation services so you can avoid them.
Using Materials That Don’t Meet Food Safety Standards
The wrong materials for food prep don’t always fail immediately. But over time, you’ll notice the difference. Porous or textured surfaces will hold moisture, and food particles will settle into small imperfections, and cleaning stops being fully effective even when cleaned regularly. This is natural, and it means that your hygiene standards will automatically slip as you won’t get the right level of cleanliness for food preparation.
In a working kitchen, you will notice this across surfaces that now don’t quite look clean or accumulate stains and lingering smells despite being cleaned regularly. And it’s not the cleaning products or processes that are the problem here its the surfaces.
Always use materials that are smooth, sealed and non-absorbent to remove this risk from your kitchen and ensure you’re meeting all applicable food safety standards.
Choosing Surfaces That Cannot Withstand Commercial Use
This often comes down to saving money. Picking up items designed for personal use in home kitchens to save a few bucks. But in commercial kitchens, the weaknesses of these products will show that they simply are not designed to withstand heavy-duty use or regular cleaning.
You’ll notice surfaces that start warping, cracking or breaking down. You’ll notice that utensils deteriorate fast, and bacteria will accumulate despite cleaning due to their construction.
Investing in equipment such as a stainless steel benchtop removes this from your kitchen. These types of workstations are designed for commercial activities and are easy to clean and hold up to their environment with ease, even with repeated use and cleaning.
Installing Difficult-to-Clean Work Surfaces
Poor installation can impact standards and result in the same outcome as using the wrong materials. It’s the presence of small gaps, uneven joins and exposed edges that cause issues here. They quickly turn into collection points for food waste.
The result will be crumbs building up along joins or liquids running to edges, for example, and then they never get fully cleaned as they are hard to reach, and over time, this will impact the entire prep space.
A properly installed surface removes these issues. They deliver continuous runs, sealed joints and smooth transitions, making cleaning easier so staff don’t avoid it and let it build up as there’s nowhere for debris to sit and hide.
