Cooks, Work Environment, and Health

Collaboration with “NHO Reiseliv”, supported by NHO's Occupational Health Fund. 

By linking the extent of exposure to cooking fumes with the occurrence of respiratory complaints, our epidemiological investigation substantiates a plausible connection between the current insight regarding the hazards of cooking fume exposure and the reported respiratory morbidity in cooks. Although there are probably several other factors that determine the health of professional cooks and many questions remain unanswered, it is well founded to recommend interventions aimed at the reduction of exposure to cooking fumes. Our findings support that this would be appropriate when attempting to prevent respiratory complaints in cooks. However, when considering our 61 findings together with the existing evidence, we would further suggest that reducing exposure to cooking fumes should be viewed as a central step towards providing healthy work environments in professional kitchens, which in the long term, might alleviate excess morbidity and mortality in the occupation.