Author: Brian Wu PhD. MD Candidate, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA; Chief Editor: Dr Amanda Oakley, Dermatologist, Hamilton, New Zealand, January 2016.
The food/catering industry is a major employer worldwide and takes place in a variety of settings, including restaurants, resorts, hotels, spas and bistros. Statistically, restaurant workers have twice as many cases of dermatitis as employees in other sectors. These skin complaints can become serious enough to warrant time off from work or even a change of career.
Why do chefs and food handlers have skin disorders?
The skin barrier is an important part of the body's immune system and acts as a natural barrier to a wide variety of substances that can cause irritation, allergic reactions and infections. The risk of skin disorders increases when the skin barrier is compromised by injury or disease.
Chefs and food handlers are at high risk for skin disease due to the nature of their work. The main occupational risk for chefs and food handlers is contact dermatitis.
Contact dermatitis stems from wet work as well as repeated/prolonged contact with food, kitchen cleaners/sanitisers and other chemicals. Dermatitis causes redness, swelling and itchiness, most often of the hands, face and forearms.
The most frequent mechanical injuries include cuts, scrapes and knife or blade injuries secondary to cutting or preparing food. The most common sites for these injuries are the hands, forearms and fingers. These injuries can also lead to secondary infections, especially from staphylococci or streptococcal bacteria.
Due to contact with ovens, grills, deep fryers and other sources of heat, thermal burns are frequent among chefs and restaurant workers. These burns result in pain, redness, swelling, blistering and when severe, loss of epidermis or dermis. Thermal burns also put workers at risk for secondary bacterial infections.
Additionally, employers and employees must be committed to safety.
Practising principles of knife safety, including how to use and sharpen knives properly, choose the right knife for the job, store them safely, and carry them vertically with the blade pointing downwards.
Gloves are required for workers when handling food and also during “wet work”, like the washing of dishes; dishwashes are advisable rather than washing items by hand. Gloves are used to reduce exposure to potential allergens or irritants, including food, cleaning or sanitising products.
A thorough occupational assessment of the patient, including the nature of their work, any chemicals or other substances they are in frequent contact with, safety protocols in place at the work site and the presence of similar skin problems in co-workers.
Knowledge of both classic and atypical signs and symptoms of dermatitis.
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Stay Safe in the Restaurant. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor. 2011.
Working Environment Information. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.