Gearing Up with the Right Protective Clothing in the Kitchen

The need to remain safe in a commercial kitchen is urgent. Protective clothing is a must in every establishment. The necessary safety goods are chain mesh gloves and TPU aprons, important for butchers and chefs using their knives and other sharp instruments daily.

Chain Mesh Gloves: A Butcher’s Best Friend

When you’re a butcher, cuts and lacerations on your hands are inevitable. No hand protection can prevent them, but when it comes to it, none will offer more protection than a pair of chain mesh gloves. 

You can hold onto the sharp end of a knife as if your hand is undergoing an operation without fear of the knife slipping.

Butchers have been wearing chain mesh gloves for years. In Australia, one of the biggest sectors driving the economy is the need for meat production.

TPU Aprons: Durable and Hygienic

TPU aprons. Essential for kitchen staff, made from Thermoplastic Polyurethane, can get tough and oils, fats, and blood can not break them; they are extremely durable, water-resistant and easy to clean, very hygienic for the kitchen, useful to avoid puddles, drops, splats. 

Chain Mesh Gloves in Australia: Quality and Compliance

Safety standards in Australia are also strict. Chain mesh gloves must pass certain venting and grip requirements to be deemed fit for purpose. Gloves should also have Australian safety approval. These rules ensure the workers’ highest safety possible in the kitchen.

The Critical Role of PPE in Food Processing

Protection from hazards in the workplace is fundamental to food processing’s sound safety ethic. Indeed, from farm to plate, preventive health is served up every time protective clothing is used prudently. 

PPE is about safeguarding human life and ensuring that the products we consume at the end of the food chain are safe.

Butchers and Chain Mesh Gloves: A Safety Standard

Butchers use chain mesh gloves to cut meat products. Chain mesh gloves are still a must for butchers as they work with many sharp tools, and these gloves minimise the risks of losing your fingers or getting a nasty cut. 

If you have been to a meat works or have ever worked in the meat industry in Australia, you know everyone wears them. Chain mesh is obtainable everywhere now, but this is where they became known for butchery and butcher safety.

TPU Aprons: Beyond the Kitchen

Whereas they are widely known as TPU aprons for kitchen use, especially in restaurants, they also play a significant role in the food processing chain where workers have to protect their own bodies alongside the right methods of food processing by using food quality TPU aprons against food plant industrial-grade machinery and equipment.

The traditional apron, the usage advantages of TPU apron, such as durability and ease of cleaning, elevate safety and cleanliness standards.

Chain Mesh Gloves: A Symbol of Compliance in Australia

Given Australia’s strict adherence to safety regulations, it’s widely accepted that its chain mesh gloves are worn solely to comply with safety regulations. Food processing workers don them because they are made to professional standards.

Commercial Kitchens Australia – Rules and Regulations

What are the laws and regulations relating to PPE in a commercial kitchen in Australia – and what are the training requirements? 

Regulatory Framework: As far as laws in commercial kitchens go, they are clear in Australia. Ensuring food safety while creating a safe working environment for staff is a primary consideration for any food manufacturer or commercial kitchen. 

The following summarises the overarching laws and training surrounding PPE in an Australian commercial kitchen.

Laws and Regulations

• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) details the requirements for all food premises and equipment (including using PPE). In particular, standard 3.2.3 covers the food premises and equipment requirements to ensure food safety.

• Safe Work Australia provides model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations, which specify that, unless provided by another company, employers are required to ensure that workers are supplied with all the PPE they need and that workers receive training on how to use, clean and store PPE.

• Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 stipulates that food workers shall take reasonable precautions to ensure that the food is not contaminated by their body, any part of it, or any relevant equipment used. In other words, PPE is a cheap, convenient way to avoid contaminating food with your body, and you must be trained to wear it.

Training Courses

• A Certificate IV in Kitchen Management (10349NAT) and a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (10168NAT) are courses that develop cookery competencies and would involve delivering a food safety program that could address PPE use.

Australian PPE training courses are tailored to food services staff so they know why PPE is needed and how to apply it. 

• PPE training for commercial kitchens can be provided by services such as SafetyHub and Tap into Safety, which offer online safety training, videos on demand, assessments, and facilitator guides.

These laws and training courses are undoubtedly important, as they protect workers and consumers from harm in the food processing industry. 

Food processing poses certain risks to those who manufacture products. Therefore, a whole series of PPE for food processing is inseparable, such as chain mesh gloves, TPU aprons, etc. It protects workers engaged in production and lends the food industry a hand to ensure food safety. And with the arrival of the new era, the PPE mania does not abate. To ensure everyone from producer to plate is safe and sound, we are still embracing PPE.

Conclusion

Part of providing a safe and efficient kitchen environment is providing the right kind of protective equipment for your kitchen staff. For instance, safety gloves for butchers processing and cutting meat, such as chain mesh gloves, or safety gloves for general kitchen use, such as TPU aprons.