Chapter 8 Play It Safe! 147
Kitchens are warm, inviting places
where tasty foods are prepared. However,
many dangers lurk there. In fact, more
accidents occur in the kitchen than in any
other room. Thousands of people are hurt in
kitchen accidents every year.
Did you ever cut yourself while slicing
an apple? Have you burned your finger on
a hot pan? Did you ever slip on a wet floor
and fall down? If so, you have been a victim
of a kitchen accident. This chapter describes
how to work safely in the kitchen. It also
explains what to do if an accident happens.
Preventing Kitchen
Accidents
Knives are sharp. Ovens and pans
can be fiery hot. Wet floors are slippery.
Everyone knows these facts! Why, then,
are so many people injured in the kitchen
every day?
Accidents are caused when people
don’t know the safe way to work. Being
careless causes accidents, too. Some
people think that accidents happen so fast
you can’t do anything to stop them. In most
cases, that’s not true. You can prevent
many accidents. A little care and knowing
how accidents occur helps you to stop most
accidents before they happen.
To Prevent Cuts
Cuts can be caused by many things.
Sharp kitchen tools, such as knives, graters,
and the blades in blenders, are the most
common cause. Broken glass and the
edges of lids from opened cans can cause
cuts, too.
Small cuts are painful and can become
infected. Large, deep cuts are especially
dangerous. A person can bleed to death in a
few minutes. To protect yourself, keep these
safety points in mind when using knives.
• Always pick up a knife by its handle.
To give a knife or sharp tool to an-
other person, lay it on the counter.
Let the other person pick it up from
the counter. This way, no one has to
touch the blade.
• Keep knives sharp. A sharp knife
is safer than a dull knife. This may
surprise you, but a sharp knife cuts
through food easily. If a knife is dull,
you will need to press harder to get
it to cut the food. Hard pressure
can cause the knife to slip and may
cause you to cut yourself instead of
the food.
• Cut away from your body and others.
Also, keep your fi ngers out of the
way. If the knife slips, no one will
get hurt.
• Use kitchen knives only to cut food.
The blade can break if it is used
to pry open a can, saw cardboard
boxes, or tighten a screw.
• Wash knives one by one. Keep
them separate from other dishes so
that they aren't hidden. Also, don't
let knives soak in soapy water. You
might not see them when you reach
into the water.
• When loading a dishwasher, place
the tips of knives and other sharp
tools pointing down into the utensil
basket.
Enrich: Invite an emergency room nurse to describe some of the
most common kitchen accidents.
Resource: Breaking the Chain of Kitchen Accidents,
Activity A, WB.
Resource: Preventing Accidents in the Kitchen, Activity C, WB.
Resource: Preventing Kitchen Accidents, lesson slide, LS 8-1.