Tagged with 'trap'

Among the many pandemic-driven culinary trends over the past two years is a reminder that rotisserie chicken remains a popular comfort food. Many grocery store chains enjoyed strong and steady rotisserie chicken sales amid the ups and downs of the past 24 months, as have a number of restaurants that serve it. Investing in a rotisserie oven can be good for business, but beware. They dump a lot of grease into your plumbing system. Here’s how to prepare for it. 

Commercial kitchen operators already know the benefits of using grease interceptors to capture used oil and grease -- cleaner sewage systems, reduced costs for wastewater treatment plants and fewer fines from municipalities.

Plus, you can protect your facility's interior plumbing and make a little extra money selling used cooking oil to recyclers.

But did you know that by capturing all that grease you're also helping cut greenhouse gas emissions?

Business managers might feel as if their lives revolve around quarters … quarters of the year, that is. From taxes to financial reports and marketing initiatives, managers have a laundry list of tasks to accomplish four times a year. Food service establishment operators have yet one more responsibility to tackle at least once a quarter — the pumping of the grease trap.

Granted, most restaurant and commercial kitchens contract out this dreaded deed, but the manager still must choose a trusted contractor. Working with someone that cuts corners or is frequently tardy could land FSE operators in hot water with their municipalities.

 Because the middle layer of water is what exits the tank, installing a properly sized interceptor — and regular maintenance to ensure the grease and water levels are at appropriate levels — are of utmost importance. Also important, hiriing the right contractor to clean out the grease interceptor periodically. Here are some tips.

Think about the grease interceptor in your food service establishment.

You’ve seen it labor on through long days, lunch rushes followed by full-house dinners — the silent workhorse of the kitchen that helps keep your commercial kitchen environmentally friendly.

But, did you know that the design of your grease trap could have potentially devastating effects on the health of your kitchen staff?

When not properly designed and maintained, grease traps can become a breeding ground for bacteria that release hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), a pungent and sometimes deadly gas. This gas can cause health problems, which is bad enough. In addition, though, the gas can damage some grease interceptors, reducing their lifespans and creating potentially higher costs.

Fortunately, this isn't inevitable. Learn more about the dangers of hydrogen sulfide and how that should figure into your grease intereceptor decisions. 

It’s not very often that wastewater system workers are hailed as heroes in the headlines around the world. But in August 2013, that’s what happened.

News media around the world picked up the story of London’s ‘fatberg,’ a bus-sized, 33,000-pound mass of fats, oils and grease that had clogged an 8-foot diameter sewer line.

The English newspaper The Guardian reported:

“A sewage worker has become an unlikely hero after taking three weeks to defeat a toxic 15-tonne ball of congealed fat the size of a bus that came close to turning parts of the London borough of Kingston upon Thames into a cesspit.”

You always score a solid "A" during health department inspections.

You make sure your fire extinguishers and other safety gear is regularly inspected.

And if something goes wrong with a piece of equipment, you immediately call a service technician and get it fixed.

While you may think you’re doing everything you could, and everything you should, to keep your commercial kitchen in compliance with government regulations, there are still a few surprises that could trip you up.