LOS ANGELES — A new study reveals that restaurants that have gas-powered appliances could have levels of airborne toxins that are higher than health and safety thresholds allow for.
Inside the restaurant at the Shore hotel in Santa Monica, chef Todd Bohak runs his operation in an all-electric kitchen.
“I have an electric grill. Our second is our flat top, that is an electric also, and our 4i induction range,” Bohak said.
As California aims to create a cleaner future, the state is hoping to move away from gas stoves and other combustion-based appliances. Bohak said that, while most chefs prefer traditional gas stoves, there are some advantages to working on electric appliances.
“The induction gets my temperatures up a lot faster,” Bohak explained. “Another really good thing about this is when you are cooking, everything around it is not hot. I can wipe down my station, I can wipe down over here, keep everything clean.”
But according to a new report by environmental nonprofit PSE Healthy Energy, along with Stanford researchers, moving away from gas stoves could offer big health benefits for restaurant workers.
The study looked at 24 commercial kitchens using gas stoves and ovens in California, New York, and Pennsylvania, and three kitchens that used electric appliances. They found that in more than 70% of gas-powered kitchens, unsafe levels of toxins like nitrogen dioxide, benzene, and carbon monoxide were present.
None of the seven kitchens that utilize electric appliances measured an excess of airborne toxins.
The same study also showed that 68% of the gas-powered kitchens in the study measured unsafe levels of heat – over 90 degrees. The researchers said this raises concern for the nearly two million restaurant workers in California.
Yannai Kashtan is an air quality scientist with PSE Healthy Energy and said what surprised them most about their study was discovering that the levels of pollutants were highest overnight.
“That’s because unlike most residential stoves, commercial stoves have these little pilot lights. But these kitchens can have dozens and dozens of these little flames that burn 24-7, whether the ventilation is on or not certainly would affect like an overnight cleaning crew,” said Kashtan.
But many chefs and restauranteurs are reluctant to make the switch to electric stoves or ovens.
According to a 2022 Stanford study that looked at gas stoves in commercial kitchens, over 7,000 restaurants in the city of LA use gas.
Dining and Cooking