TR19 Grease Compliance for Essex Kitchens

If you run a commercial kitchen in Essex or east London, the standard your extract system is judged against is TR19 Grease. This guide explains what it asks for, how often a kitchen needs cleaning, and what paperwork you should have.

Page reviewed 12 November 2026 by Essex Canopy Cleaning, a quote-arranging service. The cleaning is carried out by an independent specialist provider.

What TR19 Grease is

TR19 Grease is a specification published by BESA in 2019 for managing the fire risk from grease in kitchen extract systems. It replaced the grease section of the older TR19 document, which now covers general ventilation hygiene. It sets out how often systems should be cleaned, how clean is clean enough, how the work should be done and what the post-clean report should contain.

How often a kitchen needs cleaning

These are minimums. The real interval should come from the grease readings taken at each clean, the type of cooking and how the menu changes through the year. London Fire Brigade guidance, which applies in the east London boroughs, says extract systems need cleaning at least once a year unless the fire risk assessment says otherwise, and that kitchens producing a lot of fried or chargrilled food build up grease much faster.

How clean is clean enough

TR19 Grease sets a limit of a mean 200 microns of grease across the system between cleans — roughly half the thickness of a business card. Any reading of 500 microns or more needs an immediate spot clean. Deposits are measured with a wet film thickness test or a deposit thickness test before and after the clean, so the certificate proves the result.

What has to be cleaned

The whole extraction route: canopies, filters, plenums, risers, horizontal ductwork, the extract fan and the discharge point. Access panels are fitted at regular intervals — typically every two to three metres where the layout allows — so every section can be reached. A canopy-only clean does not meet the standard. See TR19 extract cleaning, ductwork cleaning and fan cleaning.

The post-clean report

You should receive before-and-after photographs from matching positions, the grease test results, a written summary including any areas that could not be reached, and a hygiene certificate with the date, the location and the name of the technician. Keep it with your fire risk assessment — it is the first thing a loss adjuster asks for after a fire.

Why it matters locally

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service incident reports show how these fires start. In May 2023 a fire in a pub kitchen on Clacton Road, Thorrington, began when flames from cooking caught a greasy extractor fan and spread up it to the roof, and Watch Manager Simon Tarrant said: “This is a reminder to anyone who runs a commercial kitchen to keep it clean” (ECFRS incident report). In February 2023 a restaurant fire on Old Road, Clacton-on-Sea, was believed to have been caused by a build-up of fat and grease in the extractor fan igniting (ECFRS incident report). In east London, London Fire Brigade guidance quotes its Fire Investigation Team: “by far the most common problem and cause of ducting fires is the lack of proper cleaning and maintenance” (LFB guidance note GN86).

Insurance and the Fire Safety Order

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to assess and reduce fire risk, and kitchen extract belongs in that assessment. Most commercial kitchen insurance policies also carry a condition that the extract is cleaned to a recognised standard. Without the certificates, a claim after a grease fire can be reduced or refused.

Food hygiene

Council food safety officers score the condition and cleanliness of the premises, and a greasy canopy and dripping filters count against you. In England you do not have to display your food hygiene rating sticker, but customers can look it up online and on delivery apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

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