Reducing Fats, Oils, and Grease in Your Commercial Kitchen

Any business or institution with a commercial kitchen has to deal with fats, oils, and grease (FOG). Commercial kitchens are found in restaurants, hospitals, churches, hotels, nursing homes, mobile food preparation facilities, etc.

Using best management practices such as those listed on the poster Let’s Tackle the Grease in This Kitchen can:

• Lessen the likelihood of losing revenue to emergency shutdowns caused by sewage backups and expensive bills for plumbing and property repairs.
• Lessen the likelihood of lawsuits by nearby businesses over sewer problems caused by your negligence.
• Lessen the likelihood of lawsuits from workers or the public exposed to raw sewage during a backup.
• Reduce the number of times you have to pump and clean your grease interceptors or traps.
• Lessen the likelihood of surcharges from your local sewer authority, or chargebacks for repairs to sewer pipes attributable to your FOG.
• Reduce testing requirements imposed due to a history of violations.
• Lessen the likelihood of enforcement action by local authorities due to violations of ordinances.

Compliance Tools

• Let's Tackle the Grease in This Kitchen poster (PDF) (Help with PDF) – This poster is available in English and Spanish for commercial kitchens or order it in two-color, 11" × 14¼" format (request publication no. GI-290). Camera-ready art is also available, so that you can customize the poster with your establishment’s name. Call 512-239-3100 or send an e-mail to sbap@tceq.texas.gov to order camera-ready art.
• Fats, Oil and Grease Management Food Service Assessment Checklist  – This checklist has been developed by the North Carolina Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach for the proper management of oil and grease from food service operations.