The kitchen can be a dangerous place, with burns, slips, trips, and falls being commonplace
Whether you work as a chef or on the food factory lines, first aid items are therefore vital when you are working with food. These will protect others by keeping sanitisation and food safety at the forefront of the kitchen.
It is therefore vital that the kitchen first aid is well-stocked with all of the essential items that keep you, your team, and your customers safe. These are,
- Sterile Wipes
- Powder-Free Gloves
- Plasters, Bandages, and Dressings
- First Aid Booklet
- Burn Dressings
- Eye Wash
- Hand Sanitiser
1. Sterile Wipes
A standard cleaning material for wounds is a sterile wipe.
These will sterilise the wound and rid it of any bacteria from food. Sterile wipes also help to make the healing process quicker. Cleaning the wound with a sterile wipe will also allow you to remove any blood from your work surface, keeping your products and equipment safe.
2. Powder-Free Gloves
When handling food, it is important to wear powder-free gloves. These are a piece of special safety equipment that can be bought on websites such as Unigloves (unigloves.co.uk) and other similar ones.
Using powder-free gloves will allow the cooking process to be hygienic. This is especially important if you do have any exposed or healing cuts and grazes on your hands which may still be carrying bacteria.
The gloves give a further layer of protection for you and your customers. These are also often blue, and thus can be seen easily if they have been lost in the food.
3. Plasters, Bandages, and Dressings
Cuts are incredibly common within the kitchen workplace. It is therefore important to stock up on plaster, bandages, and dressings for when these accidents do occur.
Make sure that the plasters and bandages you stock are metal-detectable and vivid blue. This allows you to notice them within a food source if they happen to fall off.
4. First Aid Booklet
Providing a first aid booklet to your workers is a great way to allow them to learn and improve upon their first aid skills.
If a long period of time has passed since their last first aid course in Perth, or wherever you are based, these will act as a refresher.
It is always useful to stock these in order for proper first aid practices to be upheld. Many often feature helpful diagrams for common ailments such as splinters, and sprained ankles, as well as for more serious first aid treatment for unresponsive patients.
5. Burn Dressings
Burns is one of the most common injuries to occur in a kitchen. It is therefore important to have a good selection of burn dressings and treatments for when this situation arises. These will help to alleviate the pain, as well as encourage burns to heal faster.
This might include Burnshield gels and sprays.
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6. Eye Wash
Eye wash is necessary for any first aid kit where any foreign substances may get into the eye. When focussing on kitchen-based injuries, we will be thinking of juice from chillies or oils.
We know how irritating instances like this are- so it is important to be prepared with eye wash to clean the eye. This is as eye wash will instantly help to stop irritation to the eye, as well as reduce damage to the eye.
7. Hand Sanitiser
Keeping hands sanitary is of the utmost importance when handling food. If germs get into the food, you put your customers and the wider business at risk.
Using effective hand sanitiser is favourable over just washing your hands as it ensures bacteria is killed before it can reach any food sources.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a first aid kit is one of the most critical parts of your kitchen. It keeps yourself, your employees and your customers safe.
Constantly replenishing your first aid kit should be a high-priority task, as well as training everyone in your kitchen in proper methods of first aid will help to reduce serious injuries from occurring within your kitchen.
Written by Luthien for Health & Safety Equipment supplier, Morsafe Supplies.