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Food prep jobs for teens come with a lot of inherent risks: extremely hot surfaces, sharp objects and toxic chemicals. This is a common job for teens, so it’s important that parents are ready with advice to help them stay safe.
When Krista Krziyzek was 18, she got a kitchen job that involved food prep. Every day started early and was long and hectic. While she generally felt safe at work, there were certain tasks she hated to do.
“We had to grate fresh horseradish and a lot of it,” says Krziyzek. “The smell was intensely strong. I would hold my breath as a result.”
This task was not only unpleasant, it also ended up being dangerous. “I lost consciousness one day,” she says. “I was scared to prepare the horseradish after that.”
To help your kids avoid harmful situations and stay safe at their food prep job, try these four tips.
1. Tell them to ask questions
If Krziyzek could go back and give her teen self some advice, it would be this: “Do not be afraid to ask questions. It's OK to not know everything in a first job. I wish I hadn’t been so grateful for a job, that I forgot to look around with a clear perspective about potential risks. I was lucky to never be seriously hurt, but the lack of discussion around safety made the risks greater.”
Simon Kaplansky had a similar role when he was 18, and his advice for teens is the same: Ask questions.
For Kaplansky, a typical day was focused on cutting, slicing, dicing and portion cooking a variety of different foods to prepare for the busy meal periods. In hindsight, he does not feel he was given good advice about the safe use of equipment in the kitchen.
2. Personal protective equipment should be chosen carefully
“I used to hate working with the deli/cheese slicer. I was scared of working with it,” says Kaplansky. “My training on it was brief, and I was told that I needed to wear a protective glove while operating it, which at the time made me feel safe.” Turns out this was not good advice. “As I have grown professionally, I'm so thankful I did not have an incident with the slicer wearing the glove,” he says. “Cut protection should never be worn with mechanized equipment.” Brief training and a pair of gloves to work with a dangerous piece of equipment is unacceptable. If your teen’s employer is treating safety like a quick fix, remind them it’s not their job to put themselves in harm’s way. They are allowed to say no and ask for proper safety precautions. And if something doesn’t feel right, they should bring their concern to their supervisor and a member of their joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or a worker health and safety representative if they work in a smaller business.
3. Workplaces should be regularly inspected for hazards
How frequently is the workplace inspected? The JHSC must do monthly workplace inspections to look for hazards (and this includes talking to workers about issues they are having or concerns they may have). In Krziyzek’s case, an inspection would have been the perfect opportunity to bring up the issues she was experiencing while working with horseradish—and could have prevented the fainting incident.
4. Safety training should be thorough and accurate
For food prep jobs in Ontario, the following training is required:
- Worker health and safety awareness in four steps training. This training is provided free by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Skills Development (MLITSD). It teaches workers about their health and safety rights and responsibilities, and the responsibilities of supervisors and employers. It also provides a general introduction to workplace health and safety.
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS). This training teaches workers about chemicals and how to safely use them in the workplace. Find out more about what your kids should know about working with chemicals in this post.
Proper training should never be brief, as was the case for Kaplansky in his food prep job (and the advice he was given was inaccurate). The equipment he was given to protect himself wasn't appropriate for the job. All workers in Ontario should be given the proper tools and equipment for the job and know how to use them safely.
Encouraging young workers to inquire about safety protocols, understand the correct use of personal protective equipment and advocate for thorough workplace inspections and proper training is crucial in ensuring a safe and healthy working environment in food prep jobs. And if your kid has any questions about safety in the workplace, they should bring them to their supervisor.