Chapter 13 Smallwares 215 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 13-4 Always obtain training on equipment before using it. Kitchen Equipment Safety Mincers, Choppers, Dicers, Slicers: • Always use push sticks or tamps to feed or remove food from these types of machines. DO NOT use your hands to feed smaller pieces of meat through slicers. • Make sure you use any machine guarding that is provided to prevent access to cutter blades. DO NOT bypass safety guards. • DO NOT open up or put your hands into an operating machine to stir contents or guide food. • Turn off and unplug a machine before disas- sembling and cleaning. Food Processors and Mixers: • DO NOT attempt to remove items (for example, a spoon that falls into the mixture) from dough while the machine is mixing. • DO NOT open up the lids of processors to stir contents while food is processing. • Make sure the processor is off before opening the lid or adding items. • Turn off and unplug machinery before cleaning or removing a blockage. • Use any machine guards provided. Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration clear of the blades. Care should be taken when using, assembling, or cleaning slicing machines due to the risk of injury. Smallwares Storage Before storing any smallwares, they must be properly cleaned, rinsed, sanitized, and allowed to dry. Often, smallwares are hung up in a kitchen to make them easily accessible. They may also be stored in drawers or on shelves. If they are stored in drawers, be sure the drawers are labeled to make the small- wares easy to find which is important in the fast-paced kitchen. If bowls, pots, and pans are stored on a shelf, they must be inverted. Also, be sure that any drawers and shelving units are routinely cleaned and sanitized. Kitchen Equipment Safety Just as with knives, there are many pieces of equipment in the kitchen that are dangerous if improperly used. According to OSHA regulations, people under 18 years of age are not permitted to operate, clean, or repair power equipment such as meat slicers or bakery mixers. Before working with any dangerous equipment, be sure to • get trained on its proper use and safety • wear any personal protective equipment provided by the employer • use any machine guarding provided • ask for help if you are not sure how to do something • be aware that age restrictions exist for workers under the age of 18 for using or cleaning certain equipment • follow the manufacturer’s instructions for machine use and cleaning The employer should verify that each employee has been trained and demonstrated proper use of each dangerous piece of equip- ment. A written record of the training is kept on file by the employer. OSHA suggests following some general safety recommendations to identify and avoid possible hazards when working with kitchen equipment, 13-4. Report any malfunctions—never try to fix machine jams or malfunctions yourself. Disconnect the power source, follow the lockout/tagout procedure, and report problems immediately to a supervisor. The lockout/tagout procedure describes the steps taken to label equipment that is malfunctioning and prevent its use.