• In ancient times, kitchens were often located outside the main living quarters of a home. They were typically small, with an open hearth for cooking and a few basic utensils.
• During the Middle Ages, kitchens began to be built inside castles and manor houses. These kitchens were much larger and more complex than earlier versions, with multiple hearths, ovens, and cooking utensils.
• During the Renaissance, kitchens continued to become more elaborate, with the development of specialized cooking tools and the introduction of new cooking techniques. The kitchen also became a central gathering place for the household.
• With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, kitchens began to incorporate new technologies, such as gas stoves and refrigeration. As more people moved into cities, smaller kitchens became the norm.
• In the 20th century, the design and functionality of kitchens continued to evolve. The introduction of electricity and new materials, such as stainless steel, allowed for more efficient and hygienic kitchens. Open-plan kitchens, where the kitchen is integrated with the living and dining areas, also became popular.
Commercial kitchens in school cafeterias and college dormitories are designed to meet strict health and safety standards, accommodate high-volume food production, and provide nutritious meals to students in an efficient and organized manner. Some common features:
Industrial-grade cooking equipment: This may include commercial ovens, grills, ranges, fryers, steamers, and other specialized cooking equipment designed for high-volume cooking.
Food preparation areas: These may include spacious prep tables, cutting boards, sinks, and other food preparation stations for washing, chopping, and assembling ingredients.
Walk-in refrigerators and freezers: These are used for storing large quantities of perishable food items at appropriate temperatures to maintain freshness and safety.
Food storage facilities: These may include shelves, racks, and cabinets for storing dry goods, canned goods, and other non-perishable food items.
Dishwashing area: This may include commercial dishwashers capable of handling a large number of dishes and utensils efficiently.
Serving stations: These may include counters, warming stations, and other facilities for serving food to students.
Ventilation and exhaust systems: These are essential for maintaining a clean and safe kitchen environment by properly removing smoke, steam, and odors generated during cooking.
Safety features: These may include fire suppression systems, emergency exits, and other safety measures to ensure compliance with local health and safety regulations.
Owing to the complexity of the domain, starting 2023 we will break down the standards for education community safety and sustainability into two separate colloquia:
Kitchens 100 will deal primarily safety — fire, shock hazard, sanitation, floors, etc.
Kitchens 300 will deal with sustainability criteria in large commercial kitchens common in school cafeterias, dormitories, sports venues and hospitals.
Williams P. Clements Jr. University Hospital
Owing to the complexity of the domain, starting 2023 we will break down the standards for education community safety and sustainability into two separate colloquia:
Kitchens 100 will deal primarily safety — fire, shock hazard, sanitation, floors, etc.
Kitchens 300 will deal with sustainability criteria in large commercial kitchens common in school cafeterias, dormitories, sports venues and hospitals.
More than 4,000 cadets gather for lunch inside Mitchell Hall at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 10, 2009. A staff of 200 food service professionals prepare nearly 13,000 meals per day for cadets throughout the academic year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ann Patton)
One of the concentrated risk aggregations in any school district, college, university and technical school, athletic venues and university-affiliated healthcare systems, rests in the food preparation units. On a typical large research university there are hundreds of kitchens in dormitories, student unions, athletic venues, hospitals and — to a surprising degree — kitchen facilities are showing up in classroom buildings. Kitchens that used to be located on the periphery of campus and run by private industry are now moving into instructional spaces and operated by private food service vendors.
Food preparation facilities present safety challenges that are on the same scale as district energy plants, athletic concession units, media production facilities and hospital operating rooms. There are 20 accredited standards setting organizations administering leading practice discovery in this space. Some of them concerned with fire safety; others concerned with energy conservation in kitchens, still others concerned with sanitation. The International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association is one of the first names in this space and maintains an accessible standards development home page; linked below:
The IKECA catalog of titles establish a standard of care for cleaning activity that fills gaps in related ASHRAE, ASME, ICC and NFPA titles. For example:
IKECA I10 Standard for the Methodology for Inspection of Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems
IKECA C10 Standard for the Methodology for Cleaning Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems
We encourage subject matter experts in food enterprises in the education industry to communicate directly with John Dixon at IKCEA (jdixon@fernley.com) or Elizabeth Franks, (215) 320-3876, information@ikeca.org, International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association, 100 North 20th Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
We are happy to get specific about how the IKECA suite contributes to lower education community cost during our Food teleconferences. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Food, food preparation, food services, food economy and food politics are fairly emotional subjects in the home — in the education industry — as it is everywhere. The safety and sustainability of school cafeterias; student dormitory dining halls; food storage warehouses; hospital patient, visitor and medical staffs food services; athletic venues; as well as a expanding number of academic and business units with their own food service enterprises depend upon a continually moving set of local, national and international standards.
The food supply chain continually crosses national boundaries. Regardless of college town insurgencies to “buy local”, the practical reality is that food safety systems must be inter-operable in the #WiseCampus because blockchain technology will make it so.
Among the standards we follow are the ISO 22000 family of food safety management standards that help organizations identify and control food safety hazards. As many of today’s food products repeatedly cross national boundaries, regardless of town-and-gown insurgencies to grow and buy local, the practical reality is that food safety systems need to be inter-operable in the emergent #SmartCampus because of blockchain technology. Attention to international Standards are needed to ensure the safety of the local the global food supply chain.
The global Secretariat for ISO TC/24 is Groupe Afnor. The business plan is linked below:
Stakeholders in the US education industry with an interest in the US position on titles developed by ISO TC/24 are encouraged to communicate with ASABE directly:
The food domain is occupied by product-oriented manufacturers; ranging from agricultural equipment to kitchen safety and sustainability. We give priority consultations relevant to food preparation enterprises in education communities and maintain the work of this committee is a standing item on our Global and Food colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next scheduled online meeting.
Issue: [15-126]
Category: Food safety
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja
The development of standard definitions, specifications, test methods, and performance requirements for food service equipment. This Committee will coordinate its activities with other ASTM Committees. Where appropriate, standards developed by other nationally recognized organizations will be adopted and referenced.
“Food service equipment is apparatus intended for use in commercial and institutional establishments for handling, storage, preparation, cooking, holding, display, dispensing, and/or the serving of food which, at the time of serving, is ready for direct consumption on or off the premises. Also included are cleaning, sanitation and ancillary items associated with food preparation and service.”
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