Masterchef producer denies OHS problems with wet floor in warehouse kitchen

The third season of hit reality television show Masterchef is rating strongly again, but this year the talk isn’t just about ingredients, cooking techniques and the chances of various contestants.

Remarkably, occupational health and safety concerns have also generated a lot of discussion, with viewers questioning whether the large amounts of water visible on the floor of the show’s set represents a hazard for the contestants.

Masterchef’s Facebook pages and forum pages have seen discussion of the issue in recent days and Megan Gale even tweeted about the issue on Friday.

“Is it just me or does the floor of Masterchef studio look like a massive work/health & safety hazard? It’s so wet & looks so damn slippery,” she said.

Masterchef host Matt Preston addressed the concern last week in a tweet, saying: “The floor is wet to keep down dust from the unpolished concrete floor. Added bonus is that it reflects the lights beautifully.”

Adrian Mott, spokesperson for the production company behind Masterchef, Fremantle Media, backed up Preston’s statement and said that because the show is being filmed in an old warehouse on Sydney’s Cockatoo Island the producers had been advised to spray the floor to prevent any dust contaminating food products.

He also said all precautions were taken to ensure the workplace was safe, including briefings for contestants.

“There was an occupational health and safety officer on stand-by, as well as a medical officer, as we always have. All safety practices were carried out with OHS officers there,” Mott told SmartCompany.

OH&S and hospitality industry experts contacted by SmartCompany including Gillian Cornwell of Minerva Consulting Group and Jill Robinson of Country Hospitality Services, say hospitality regulations require anti-slip rubber mats to be used in areas where there are spillages or wet services.

Although there is footage on the Masterchef site of a contestant taking a fall (see still below) Mott says anti-slip mats are in place and said viewers concerned about the issue on Facebook were “adding up two and two and getting six”.

However, industrial relations lawyer and OHS specialist Andrew Douglas, writing on SmartCompany today, says reality TV shows like Masterchef need to do more to address safety issues for amateurs who may be trying to recreate Masterchef dishes at home.

“In the modern western economy where the welfare and safety of people is paramount, it is odd to see reality shows continuing to celebrate unacceptable risk taking behaviour. Why can’t a minute of the show be allocated towards assessing the potential hazards, determining what the risks are and introducing controls?” Douglas asks.

“What people are being encouraged to do, is to develop restaurant quality food. If that is the case, why are the safety principles that exist in major restaurants not front of mind in shows like Masterchef? Why are they ignored, particularly when the people involved are amateurs? Everyone in safety understands that amateurs, who have no knowledge or skill of safety, have the greatest risk of injury.”

Mott says the format of Masterchef does not really allow for regular briefings on safety and also pointed out that it would be difficult to cover both OHS in the kitchen and on a film set.

However, he did say Masterchef had covered kitchen safety issues and would continue to do so.

“We have quite commonly covered safe work practices in kitchens right from series one, from proper knife usage to safe food handling.”