The majority of today’s commercial kitchens use heated ‘gantrys’ – stainless steel devices for keeping plates of food warm prior to serving. The heat is produced by the halogen lighting fitted within the gantry itself. These halogen lamps should, for health and safety reasons, be fitted with ‘jackets’, an additional free-moving glass sleeve to protect the inner sleeve from any outside contact that can cause heat spots and reduce the life span. Most importantly, the jacket stops the inner glass (if shattered) from falling onto food.
C&C Catering Engineers recommends that all catering facilities use jacketed halogen bulbs to prevent potential problems. It is essential that jacketed bulbs are used as standard procedure in all food production environments. A bulb that shatters can shower food with shards of glass which is obviously extremely hazardous and can be difficult to spot. Surprisingly, some catering facilities do still use normal halogen bulbs and this is often because of the price. A standard halogen bulb will cost around £1.50, with jacketed halogen bulbs costing much more than that, around the £10 mark. With certain heated gantrys requiring as many as twenty bulbs, this can be a costly process.
As costly as this might be however, shattered glass found in food can prompt legal proceedings which often prove lengthy, damaging and very expensive. The jacketed bulb ensures greater safety in the commercial kitchen environment, in addition to reducing expenditure over the long term, due to its long life. We strongly recommend these in adherence to British standard regulations.
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