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18th March 2005
Aga Foodservice Group has called a summit to debate concerns surrounding the level of safety and efficiency of industry standard sediment zone fryers, currently used in most restaurants, schools and catering operations.
Falcon, Aga Foodservice Group’s commercial cooking operation, has spent 18 months conducting extensive equipment testing. This research has revealed serious health, hygiene and efficiency concerns in relation to sediment zone fryers. The Summit, called for Thursday May 12, will summarise the research and present additional independent verification of Falcon’s findings.
Initial findings highlight the following health concerns:
• Sediment zones, where food debris gathers at the bottom of the fryer, could be a health hazard with the sediment containing potentially harmful compounds including acrylamides, that are thought to be carcinogenic
• Poorly maintained oil contains high levels of free fatty acids and impacts on food quality and fat content of food produced
• The World Health Organisation has highlighted acrylamides as a potential health hazard and encourages the food industry and other researchers to share information about new technologies that can achieve reduced acrylamide levels
• The cleaning and removal of oil from sediment zone fryers is the single largest cause of accidents in kitchens according to the latest Health and Safety Commission report.
• Although the efficiency of commercial fryers is regulated in the UK, burner performance levels are well below those permissible in domestic central heating boilers.
Falcon’s new Infinity Fryer is a model of efficiency and addresses the above issues. It:
• Uses less than half the cooking oil
• Has 86% burner efficiency, greatly higher than sediment zone fryers
• Produces food that contains less fat
• The hygienic flat bottomed design, with push-button, in-built filtration helps keep cooking oil clean
The Aga Foodservice Group is inviting customers, government agencies and food industry experts to attend its Summit to debate these issues fully. The Summit will be held at the offices of Brunswick Group, 16 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3ED.
Stephen Rennie, Chief Operating Officer of Aga Foodservice Group, commented: “Such is our concern over the health and hygiene implications of our findings that we have sought independent verification, which we will present on May 12. Unlike food manufacturing for retail consumption, the foodservice sector lags behind in respect of hygiene, health and efficiency legislation. These are serious issues that need to be debated by the industry. Food equipment manufacturers have a major role to play in raising food standards.”
Ends/
For further information:
Stephen Rennie, Chief Operating Officer: 0121 711 6025
Simon Sporborg, Brunswick Group: 0207 404 5959
Infinity Fryer information
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