10 Notorious Kitchen Accidents around the world

1. Butchering your thigh

"I was butchering a pig and it had been hanging for like a week and a half, so the skin was really tough.
Like leather. I tried to get through the leathery skin in one cut using all my strength, and I did... but I
wasn't ready for the release and had my body in the way of the knife. Bam! The knife finished right in
my thigh.

"I thought there was no way I just stabbed myself, so I kept working. Then I realized my thigh felt wet. I
looked down and I had bled through my apron. Calmly, I put my knife down, walked to the bathroom,
pulled my pants down, and blood gushed out. I washed it, bandaged up, and kept working for a couple
of hours.

"I remember getting s**t from all the guys on my return from the bathroom after discovering that I did
indeed stab myself, in a tone that you would use to woo your baby. 'Did Julia cut themselves?' And I was
like, 'No, I stabbed myself, you a**hole.'"

Julia Poplawsky, Dai Due (Austin, TX)

2. Evil robots and fish spines

"Robot Coupes have a habit of breaking and then being jimmied up with a pen or skewer. I was making a
farce meat and the Robot Coupe came to life with my hand in it. I pulled my hand out in a blink and my
finger was half hanging off. I stayed to get the line together. I was the only manager in the kitchen that
night, so they just stitched my finger back together. I was more worried about the kitchen than about my
finger. It still has no feeling.

"Another time I stabbed my finger with a fish spine. Two days later, I saw a red line crawling up my arm. I
rushed to the hospital and the line was nearly to my chest. I spent the entire night on antibiotics in the ER
and was back to work the next morning. It was scary. Things like that make me very aware of the injuries
that really need to be taken care of."

Kris Morningstar, Terrine (Los Angeles, CA)

3. Burn notice

"I had a steam kettle that I'd hold all my hot sauces in before we'd set up the line. While I was yelling to
someone across the kitchen, I cranked up the kettle and one of the pans hit the front and it splashed
boiling hot water right in my shoe. They were rubber Birkenstocks. They basically kept this boiling hot
water right on top of my foot.

"This happened right before dinner, so I worked my entire shift, and then afterwards I go back to my office
and I take off my shoe and sock. The top layer of my foot just came off."

Jeff Bolton, Kachina (Westminster, CO)

4. When life gives you lemons, it might also give you head wounds
"My favorite was during a stage at this place that used lemon leaves on their soup liner plates. They were
running out, so I eagerly volunteered to go grab more from the garden out back. The garden had no lights
and the trees were planted in halved wine barrels. I did not know this. Guided by the moonlight, I walked
smack into the side of the wine barrel, fell forward, and cracked my forehead on the opposite side of the
barrel. Coming back in I had blood pouring down my face and dirt all over my chef coat. I ate s**t and had
everybody laughing at me. But I got the leaves and the job. That was awesome. For reals."

Isaac Miller, Maven (San Francisco, CA)

5. Kitchen triage

"I had a varicose vein rupture on my leg when I was cooking on the line at Spago. It was an extremely busy
night and I started to feel that my sock was wet. I lifted up my pant leg and blood started projectile
squirting. I calmly stepped off the line and into a back office, squirting the whole way. The executive sous
chef followed me into the office and immediately went into battle triage, cutting my pant leg off at the
knee like a pirate. He stuffed gauze in the wound and duct taped my leg closed. I went back on the line
and finished an epic night."

Evan Funke, Bucato (Culver City, CA)

6. Bloody fingers and toes

"One of the worst was when I cut my left finger in half with a fish scissor. My fingers were so cold I didn't
even feel it, but it was very bloody and messy.

"The other was when we were unloading a delivery, back when Parmigiano cheese was delivered in a box.
The box broke from the bottom and the 80lb wheel of cheese broke four of my toes. I was in so much pain
that I almost threw up. It was an unfathomable amount of pain."

Ralph Scamardella, TAO Group (New York, NY)

7. Don't leave the oven door open

"Early in my career, someone left a 450-degree convection oven open behind me. I accidentally hit my
hand on the door, burning it pretty badly. Leaving a few layers of skin behind was tough, but the worst
was yet to come.

"I went to change my bandage after my shift and noticed that the gauze was stuck to the wound like glue.
After the intense pain of changing the wrapping, I went to sleep only to wake up with my hand stuck to
the bed sheet. I finally had enough and went to the hospital... with the sheet still attached."

Christopher Lee, The Forge (Miami, FL)

8. Pressure cooker vs. forearm

"My worst kitchen injury is a tie between when I stabbed myself through my thumb with a cheap sashimi
knife in culinary school and that time a pressure cooker exploded and gave me third-degree burns from
my knuckles to my elbow. Both times I had to keep working."

Richie Nakano, Hapa Ramen (San Francisco, CA)

9. Fish are not friends

"I splashed super-hot oil on my left hand while flipping skate wing on my first night as a fish cook. My
initial reaction was to wipe my hand with my side towel, causing a large amount of the skin to peel off the
top of my hand. I've turned everything away from me ever since, especially skate wing."

Polo Dobkin, Meadowsweet (Brooklyn, NY)

10. Clams and cooking brandy

"This didn't happen to me, but the worst one I've seen was a sous chef shucking clams on the hot line. He
had a rather sharp clam knife go deep into his hand. Since it was mid-service, there wasn’t much he could
do. He poured some cooking brandy on the wound and laid his palm directly on the plancha to cauterize
it. He took a swig of the brandy, wrapped his hand, and kept on working."

Jorge Hernandez, Qui (Austin, TX)

New Zealand kitchen operation policies

Overview

Everyone working in the food industry has a responsibility to make sure that the food we buy is safe and
suitable to eat.

Food Act enhances food safety

The Food Act 2014 helps make sure that food sold throughout New Zealand is safe.

A central feature of the Act is a sliding scale where businesses that are higher risk, from a food safety point
of view, will operate under more stringent food safety requirements and checks than lower-risk food
businesses. This means that a corner dairy operator who reheats meat pies won't be treated in the same
way as the meat pie manufacturer.

The Act promotes food safety by focusing on the processes of food production, not the premises where
food is made. For example, someone who makes and sells food from a food truck must follow the same
rules as someone who makes and sells food at a restaurant.

In force since March 2016, the Act introduced other changes, including:

the way food recalls are managed

changes for food importers

penalties and enforcement.

The Act has 2 food safety measures:

Food control plans (FCPs): Written plans for managing food safety on a day-to-day basis. These are used
by higher-risk businesses.
National programmes: A set of food safety rules for medium and low-risk businesses. If you're under a
national programme, you don't need a written plan (or develop written procedures), but must register,
meet food safety standards, keep some records, and get checked.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is an Australian government agency that develops and
manages standards for food – known as the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Parts one and two of the Code apply in New Zealand. These parts regulate the use of ingredients,
processing aids, colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals. They also cover the composition (make-up)
of some foods and include standards for genetically modified foods.

FSANZ is also responsible for labelling of both packaged and unpackaged food, including mandatory
(legally required) warnings or advisory labels.

In Australia, FSANZ also sets primary production and processing standards, and maximum residue limits
for agricultural and veterinary chemicals. In New Zealand, these activities are undertaken by the New
Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries.

The FSANZ Board decides whether or not to approve changes to the Food Standards Code. These decisions
are notified to Australian and New Zealand ministers responsible for food regulation (the Australia and
New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation). The forum can adopt, make changes to or reject
standards and can ask FSANZ to review its decisions.

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991

FSANZ operates under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. The main objectives of this
Act are to:

protect public health and safety

provide enough information about food to help consumers make informed choices and to prevent fraud
and deception

prevent misleading and deceptive conduct.

Role of FSANZ

FSANZ's role is to protect the health and safety of people in Australia and New Zealand by maintaining a
safe food supply.

FSANZ is responsible for:

developing and making changes to standards for food

developing standards for primary production (Australia only)

providing information to consumers to help them make food choices

coordinating national food surveillance, enforcement and food recalls (Australia only)

doing consumer and industry research

scientific risk assessments

providing risk assessment advice on imported food (Australia only).

Changing the Food Standards Code

Anyone can apply to change standards in the Food Standards Code. FSANZ can also raise proposals to
amend the code if an important food safety issue arises.

The process for changing the code includes:

A new application or proposal is submitted to FSANZ.

The application or proposal is assessed, and an initial assessment report is produced. This is cleared by
the FSANZ Board and goes out for public comment.

Public comment is analysed and an assessment report is prepared, which includes a scientific risk
assessment.

This assessment report is approved by the FSANZ Board.

The report may go out for another round of public comment. The comments received are analysed and
changes made to the report if necessary.

The FSANZ Board approves or rejects the final assessment report.

The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation is notified of the decision and if
ministers do not request a review, the standard is gazetted (published) and incorporated into the Food
Standards Code.

Once approved, any new standard or variation to a standard is adopted by Australian states and territories
and by New Zealand authorities, and becomes part of food legislation.

Other law changes

The new Act introduces other changes. They include:

the way food recalls are managed

changes for food importers

penalties and enforcement.

Food recall changes

The Food Act 2014 gives the chief executive of MPI the power to direct a food recall if needed. Previously
a recall under the Food Act 1981 could only be directed by the Minister for Food Safety.

There are no other changes to how businesses should manage food recalls, and they should continue to
plan for food recalls as they have always done.

3. Common accidents in professional kitchen

Here are the most common accidents in a commercial kitchen- and how to prevent them.
1. Knife Accidents

Let’s begin with the most basic of food related injuries; cuts from knives.

Paradoxically, it is often when a knife is blunt that it causes injuries, because it slips away from the thing
it is supposed to be cutting and onto the hands of the individual food preparer. Bizarrely, one of the best
ways to reduce knife related accidents is by keeping your knives sharp.

All staff should be trained on how to best use knives. Most good chefs often are, so let them teach the
younger, inexperienced staff.

2. Trips and Falls

Of all the hazards in a kitchen, it is trips and falls which cause the biggest percentage of work related
accidents.

Kitchen floors are often smooth in order to maintain cleanliness, but this surface poses a lot of hazards.
The potential for any spillages to cause a trip or fall is increased on uncarpeted surfaces, which kitchens
necessarily are.

You can’t rely on rushed food preparation staff to carefully remove all spillages as and when. It is
important to employ a figure equivalent to the pot-wash to manage all spillages in the kitchen, to make
sure floor areas are clean and dry at all times. This should help to prevent the biggest cause of kitchen
accidents in the U.S.

3. Burns

From boiling water and boiling oil to scorching ovens, there’s no shortage of burn risks in a commercial
kitchen. In a working environment where heat is so much a part of the process, you are unlikely to
eliminate burns. The best you can do is minimise the risks.

An obvious place to start is with numerous oven gloves hung on the handle of every oven. Staff who are
in a rush will often forget and go into an over bare-handed, only to injure themselves. Gloves on the door
of the oven serve as a visual reminder of best practise.

Lids should be kept on pans of boiling water as often they can be, as with other scalding substances. Make
sure your kitchen is designed so hobs are close to sinks, so staff don’t have to carry boiling liquids for large
distances.

Further, remind staff to always take it slowly when carrying boiling substances to prevent spillages and
serious burns.

4. Fire

Fire is a dangerous presence in a kitchen which is never far away. Fire cannot just cause an injury, but it
can ruin lives if it gets out of hand; the best-case scenario of most fires is they only damage property.
Fire extinguishers are a must for any kitchen. Staff should be trained on how to use them, and in worst
case scenario, the best evacuation procedures. Chip-pan use and other oil-frying methods should only be
carried out by staff who have received the highest training in that area. All appliances used in a kitchen
should be tested, and sockets should never be overcrowded to present flares of power from the mains
causing a fire. This is one of the ways you can prevent a secondary risk of fire.

5. Shattering cookware

More than 37,000 people were injured from using cookware. Hot handles can burn and sometimes glass
cookware can shatter. Heed these no-nos:

Don’t take the dish directly from the freezer to the oven or vice versa.

Don’t put the dish directly on a burner or under a broiler.

Don’t add liquid after the dish is hot or put a hot dish on a cold or damp surface.

Stop using a dish that’s chipped or cracked.

6. Food processor lacerations

Food processors caused more than 21,000 injuries, including cuts from the blades. To prevent accidents
and injuries: Don’t leave motorized models on for a long time; they can overheat.

Never reach into a slicer or a chopper. There is no need to hand wash and subject your fingers to injury;
many parts are dishwasher-safe—including blades.

7. Microwave oven burns

More than 10,000 people were hurt using microwaves. Burns were most common. To prevent accidents
and injuries:

Be careful when removing a wrapper or cover on a microwaved dish; steam can escape and cause a nasty
burn.

Food can heat unevenly in a microwave, so use caution when touching or tasting.

Let food cool for a minute or two before removing it from the microwave.

Boil water on the stove. Superheated water in the microwave may appear placid but can violently erupt.

8. Blender injuries

More than 9,600 injuries occurred involving blenders. Immersion blenders are great for soups because
they blend directly in a pot, but recent reports show that injuries are growing with the use of those small
appliances. To prevent accidents and injuries:

Avoid the temptation to put your hand inside, especially if it’s plugged in. Most blenders don’t have safety
interlocks, so you could accidentally turn it on and mangle your hand.

To clean blades without touching them, add dishwashing detergent and hot water to the container and
let it run on high for a minute. Unplug, then rinse.
9. Eyes Irritation

It is common for items to splash about the kitchen when cooking; many will suffer with eye irritation if oil,
water, or food splashes get into the eye. To avoid oil from food that is cooking or frying from splashing
into the eye, invest in a guard for pots or pans, and keep temperatures at a medium level rather than
having it too high.

10. Manual handling

Carrying, lifting, pushing, and other manual handling man oeuvres can, if not done safely, seriously harm
the body's musculoskeletal system.

The Health and Safety Executive reports that over 30% of food and drink industry injuries are mainly
musculoskeletal injuries caused by manual handling.

Hazardous manual handling tasks include:

 Lifting boxes and crates of food.

 Pushing or pulling wheeled racks (such as trolleys).
 Carrying pots or stacks of plates.
 Moving equipment.
 Handing containers of drinks (including casks and kegs).
 Unloading food and drink deliveries.
 Cutting and deboning (meat and poultry).
 Reaching for items on shelves or in walk-in fridges.