Extract cleaning for food production, leisure and other sites

Food production, leisure and more

Not every kitchen is a restaurant. Bakeries, central production kitchens, food factories, takeaways and dark kitchens cook for long hours and in large volumes. Leisure centres, gyms with cafés, cinemas, bowling alleys, theatres, stadiums, golf clubs and holiday parks all have kitchens and ventilation to look after. We clean them all to TR19®, planned around production shifts, opening hours and event days.

Every job starts with a survey, from photos and details or on site, then a fixed quote, usually within one working day. Larger sites often have several systems, so the survey lists each one, how heavily it is used and how it can be reached, and the quote sets out what will be cleaned or tested.

What these sites need

• Kitchen extract cleaning for production lines, cookers, fryers and ovens
• Ductwork and extract fan cleaning on long or complex runs
• LEV testing for dust and fume extraction
• Odour control maintenance: carbon filters, UV and ESP units
• Ventilation and AHU cleaning for halls, changing rooms and auditoriums
• Grease trap cleaning and kitchen deep cleaning
• Fire damper testing and remedials
• Kitchen extraction installation for new or extended kitchens

LEV testing for food production

Where a process creates dust or fumes, such as flour in a bakery, the extraction that captures it is local exhaust ventilation (LEV). Under COSHH, the HSE says LEV needs a thorough examination and test at least every 14 months, with a few exceptions, by a competent person. See the HSE’s guidance on LEV. We test hoods, ducts, fans and filters, record airflows and give you a report to keep with your COSHH records.

LEV and kitchen extract are often confused on production sites. A cooking line with a canopy is kitchen extract, cleaned to TR19® Grease. A dust hood over a mixer or a fume hood over a process is LEV, tested under COSHH. Many sites have both. Our guide to LEV testing explains the difference.

Cooking hours and cleaning frequency

BESA’s kitchen extract guidance sets minimum cleaning intervals by daily cooking hours:

A production kitchen running two shifts, or a takeaway open from lunch to late, is often in the heavy band. A leisure centre café or golf club kitchen may be light or moderate. A stadium or theatre kitchen can be quiet for days, then cook flat out on event days, so grease readings are the best guide. BESA says grease should not exceed a mean of 200 microns between cleans, and 500 microns or more at any point needs immediate spot cleaning.

Takeaways, dark kitchens and leisure venues

Takeaways and delivery-only dark kitchens often cook from lunch until late, seven days a week, with fryers, grills and woks working hard. That puts a lot of grease into a short duct, sometimes in a small unit with the fan on a back wall or a shared roof. We clean them after closing, and grease readings tell us whether the interval needs to be shorter than BESA’s minimum. See takeaway and dark kitchen extracts.

Leisure venues are different again. A sports centre or swimming pool may have a small café kitchen, but large supply and extract systems serving halls, changing rooms and pool areas. Cinemas, theatres and bowling alleys have kitchens, bars and auditorium ventilation. Golf clubs and holiday parks often have a clubhouse kitchen that is busy in summer and quiet in winter. We look at each system on its own terms and plan the work for the quiet times.

Scheduling around shifts and events

Production sites can often give us a planned shutdown, a weekend or a gap between shifts. Leisure venues usually prefer closed days, early mornings or the night after an event. We agree the timing, the areas we use and any hygiene rules for production floors, such as protective clothing and how tools and waste are handled. Our 24/7 emergency line covers breakdowns and urgent cleans.

On a food production site, we protect lines and equipment under the work area, keep cleaning chemicals and waste away from food and packaging, and leave the area ready for your own hygiene team to sign off before production restarts. For venues, we plan around fixtures, shows and bookings, and can split a large site into several shorter visits so no area is out of use for long. If a site has seasonal peaks, such as a holiday park in summer, we clean before the busy season starts.

Responsible person, insurers and EHOs

TR19® is not law. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 needs the responsible person to assess and reduce fire risk, which in a kitchen means keeping grease in the extract under control. GOV.UK explains the duties. Many insurers ask for proof of TR19 cleaning, and food businesses are inspected by the council’s environmental health team, with ratings published on the food hygiene ratings site.

On a production site, the extract is part of the hygiene picture as well as the fire one. Grease dripping from a canopy or condensation running from a duct over a food line is the kind of thing an inspector notices. A clean system, a recent certificate on file and a photo report make it easy to show the extract is under control. If you are not sure where your system stands, a TR19 inspection with grease readings is a good place to start.

Certificates, reports and several sites

Every clean comes with a TR19® certificate issued through the BESCA VHE portal and a photo report showing the system before and after. The report lists what was cleaned, the grease readings, any section we couldn’t reach and the date for the next clean. We are a BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease, with CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001. Operators with several sites across London and the South East can put them all on one maintenance contract, with each kitchen, process line or venue on its own frequency and its own records.