Best Management Practice for Fats, Oils and Grease
Residual fats, oils and grease (fog) are by-products that food service establishments must constantly manage. Typically, FOG can enter a facility’s plumbing system from ware washing, floor cleaning, and equipment sanitation. Sanitary sewer systems are neither designed nor equipped to handle the FOG that can accumulate on the interior of the sewer collection system pipes from improperly maintained discharges. FOG a be managed effectively by Drain-Net food service customers to minimize the discharge to the sewer system and decrease required maintenance of grease trap interceptors. By preventing the introduction of grease into the waste system you reduce the burden on the grease trap interceptor and thereby reduce emergency plumber calls, down time, maintenance cost and disposal fees. This best Management Practice (BMP) will introduce techniques used throughout the food service industry and have been proven effective when implemented properly and consistently.
Ware Cleaning
Practice dry cleanup. Remove food waste with “dry” methods such as scraping, wiping, and sweeping before using “wet” methods that use water. Wet methods typically wash the water and waste materials into the drains where it eventually collects on the interior walls of the drainage pipes. Do not pour grease, fats, or oils from cooking down the drain and do not use the sinks to dispose of the food scrapes. The success of dry cleanup is dependent upon the behavior of the employee and availability of the tools for removal of food waste before washing. To practice dry cleanup:
- Use rubber scrapers to remove fats, oils and grease from cookware, utensils, chafing dishes, and serving ware.
- Use food grade paper to soak up oil and grease under fryer baskets.
- Use paper towels to wipe down work areas. Cloth towels will accumulate grease that will eventually end up in your drains from towel washing/rinsing.
- Install stainless steel flat strainer to screen all solids (www.Drain-Net.com)
For most establishments which have grease trap interceptor(s) this can significantly reduce FOG discharged to you’re the interceptor(s). Disposing of grease by recycling or garbage is less expensive than pumping out and hauling away FOG from your grease trap interceptor(s).
- Do not use garbage disposals they add grease laiden products directly into your grease traps
- Use a 3-compartment sink for ware washing. Begin with a hot pre-wash, then a scouring sink with detergent, then a rinse sink install a stainless steel flat drawer style strainer under sinks.
- Make sure all drains screens are installed. (www.Drain-Net.com)
- Prior to washing and rinsing, use a hot water pre-rinse that is separately trapped to remove non-emulsified oils and greases from washing. Wash and rinse steps should also be trapped.
Ensure that edible food is not flushed down your drains. Install flat strainers to catch any solid waste before it enters the piping system and grease trap. This will help to eliminate the foul grease trap odors, sewer and drain flies.
In the Drain-Net floor drains in all floor drains use Drain-Nets like you would use a trash can liner. When it’s full pull it out and throw it away and replace with a new one.
Floor and Equipment Cleaning
Preventing spills reduces the amount of waste on food preparation and serving areas that will require cleanup. A dry workplace is safer for employees in avoiding slips, trips, and falls. For spill prevention:
- Empty containers before they are full to avoid spills
- Use a cover to transport grease container contents to the rendering barrel. (fat trapper container www.Drain-Net.com 1-800-407-3726)
- Provide employees with the proper tools (ladles, ample containers, ect.) to transport materials without spilling.
Contract with a management company to professionally clean large hood filters. Small hoods can be hand-cleaned with spray detergents and wiped down with cloths for cleaning. Hood filters can be effectively cleaned by routinely spraying with hot water with little or no detergents over the mop sink that should be connected to a grease trap. After hot water rinse (separately trapped), filter panels can go into the dishwasher. For hoods to operate properly in the removal of grease-laden vapors, the ventilation system will also need to be balanced with sufficient make-up air. Install grease gutters www.drain-net.com to protect your roof and keep your roof warranty in effect.
Empty grill top baskets or scrap boxes and hoods into solid waste for disposal.
Trap and Interceptor Design and Maintenance
For grease traps and interceptors to be effective, the units must be properly sized, constructed and installed in a location to provide an adequate retention time for settling and accumulation of the FOG. If the units are too close to the FOG discharge and do not have enough volume to allow amassing of the FOG, the emulsified oils will pass through the unit without being captured. For information on properly locating, constructing, and sizing grease traps and interceptors, contact your city representatives and www.Drain-Net.com 1-800-407-33726 fir a free consultation.
Ensure all grease-bearing drains discharge to the grease interceptor. These include mop sinks, woks, wash sinks prep sinks, utility sinks, pulpers, pre-rinse sinks, can washes, and floor drains in food preparation areas such as those near a fryer or tilt/steam kettle. No toilet waste should be plumbed to the grease interceptor. Install Drain-Net disposal floor drain strainers. All mop sinks must be equipped with a mop stop organizer. www.mopstop.com 1-800-407-3726.
Maintenance is key to avoiding FOG blockages. Whatever method or technology is used to collect, filter and store FOG, ensure that equipment is regularly maintained. All staff should be aware of and trained to perform correct cleaning procedures, particularly for under-sink grease traps that are prone to break down due in improper maintenance. A daily and weekly maintenance schedule is highly recommended. Also consider installing automatic grease maps which are virtually maintenance free. www.Drain-Net.com.
Cleaning intervals depend upon the type of food establishment involved. Some facilities require monthly or once every two months cleaning of below ground interceptors. Establishments that operate a large number of fryers of handle a large amount of fried foods such as chicken, along with ethnic food establishments may need at least monthly cleanings. Full cleaning of interceptors (removing all liquids and solids and scraping the walls) is a worthwhile investment. Remember, sugars, starches and other organics accumulate from the bottom up. If sediment is allowed to accumulate in the interceptor, it will need to be pumped more frequently. Also incorporate use of a good grease and oil absorbent. (www.Drain-Net.com) Grease absorbent compound. This can be put on floor around grease produce equipment and in all drain strainers. This absorbent will collect oil, grease and solid food waste. When used with Drain-Net strainer this material can we discarded with the regular trash.
Frying Oil Recycling
- Skim/ filter fryer grease daily and change oil when necessary.
- Use a test kit provided by your grocery distributor rather than simply “guess” to determine when to change oil. This extends the life of both the fryer and the oil. Build-up of carbon deposits on the bottom of the fryer as an insulator that forces the fryer to heat longer, thus causing the oil to break down sooner.
- Collect fryer oil in an oil rendering tank for disposal or transport it to bulk oil rending tank instead of discharging it into a grease trap interceptor. www.Drain-Net.com
- Develop a rotation system if multiple fryers are in use. Designate a single fryer for products that are particularly high in deposits, and change that one more often.
- Use oil and grease absorbent on floor near your fryers 1-800-407-3720 www.Drain-Net.com
Training
Train kitchen staff in BMP and methods to reduce the volume of grease being discharged to the sanitary sewer system. Train your staff to be aware of problems created by grease being disposed of improperly. Drain-Net considers improper disposal of Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) a violation of your sewer service agreement and there are possibilities of fines in addition to cost of cleaning clogged pipes. Even a small amount of grease on each pot, pan or plate can be a contribution to the grease problem when you serve hundreds of meals. By posting the provided “grease signs” above sinks, on dishwashers and near other discharge points, it will serve as a constant reminder to keep grease out of the system. www.Drain-Net.com.
It is also important to educate kitchen staff not to remove Drain-Net screens as this may allow paper or plastic, food scraps, cups, straws, and other utensils to enter the plumbing system during cleanup.
Easy does it! Instruct staff to be conservative in their use of fats, oils, and grease in food preparation and serving.
Recordkeeping
Use Drain-Net standard waste manifest or equivalent to track disposal of waste (FOG). Keep interceptor maintenance and cleaning log to record these activities. Record any self inspections and keep along with inspection reports. Retain for a period of at least (3) years, and make available for inspection and copying, all records of information pursuant to this BMP.
For additional information call the Drain-Net hotline 1-800-407-3726 Email at sales @Drain-Net.com
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