A Recipe For Disaster?

Kevin Edwards, Managing Director of Hartlepool based industrial cleaners, Krystal Cleaning Services Ltd, believes that safety and cleanliness are the main ingredients of a well managed kitchen. The company was established to supply a complete specialist support services package to the retail, bakery, catering, hospitality and building industries, but they are finding that the catering industry, in particular, is increasingly calling on their services to carry out deep cleaning of the complex ventilation and extraction systems employed in most modern kitchens and food production factories. "The extract system is the perfect landing and holding place for oil and grease deposits and by ignoring good hygiene rules, firms are simply storing up potentially expensive problems – if they leave those out of the recipe, they can expect trouble ahead." In November 1992, an historic Lincolnshire landmark - The George Hotel in Stamford - was severely damaged by fire and whilst parts of the building were saved, the kitchen and its contents were extensively damaged. A BBC News report at the time quoted the Lincolnshire Fire service as saying that a "build up of fat in an extractor fan caused the fire." Mr Edwards said: "Extract system filters can't remove all vaporised oil, grease or debris from the plenum chamber, ductwork or fan surfaces – if left un-cleaned, heat build-up can eventually lead to fire." According to Mr Edwards, the Insurers Loss Council (ILC) recommends cleaning the entire system at least annually but he suggests that organisations need to carry out risk assessments to determine whether to more frequent cleans are required: "I would always recommend thorough risk assessments are carried out with the organisation's own insurance policy in mind, because the annual cleaning cycle, recommended by the ILC, is a minimum standard." "Individual organisations may have more rigorous conditions imposed by their insurers and failure to comply with the terms of a policy could mean that the entire contract would be invalidated in the event of claim, for example following a fire - the firm could be faced with a total loss." The Association Of British Insurers (ABI) recorded losses associated with dirty extract system fires in 1997 of £25 million rising to £65 million the following year. At the time, Mr Edwards was working for a large supermarket chain and dissatisfied with the way in which maintenance and cleaning contracts were being managed, decided to set up on his own, as a sole trader, employing his wife Sylvia and son Craig, in the business. Following initial success, gaining a contract with Morrisons Supermarket, the business became a limited company and at peak times has employed up to 25 staff. The firm now employs a dedicated team of six, all of whom are fully trained via an NVQ programme developed jointly with Hartlepool College Of Further Education which includes Daily, Weekly and Specialist cleaning procedures. In addition everyone employed by the company has had specialist training for working at heights and all hold IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) licences, allowing them to use, for example, mobile access platforms, cherry-pickers and scissor lifts. All staff have also had comprehensive training in the safe use of chemicals and the company has worked with a Cambridge based chemical firm to develop their own bespoke cleaning chemicals for use in sensitive areas, particularly where the risk of food contamination needs to be minimised. Mr Edwards, whose background was in electro-mechanical engineering, adopts a simple philosophy to doing business: "If you are going to do a job, do it right!" He added: "We have carried out work for many large organisations including KFC, Starbucks and Morrisons Supermarkets and have spent years defining and focussing on our clients' needs – we always aim to exceed their requirements and expectations." "We are able to give our clients peace of mind, by providing a