In a busy restaurant or café, there are countless things competing for an operator’s attention: staffing, food safety, customer service, equipment, suppliers, costs and the constant pressure of keeping service moving.
CO₂ safety is unlikely to be at the top of that list.
Yet for venues using carbon dioxide for draught beverages, post-mix systems or beverage production, CO₂ presents a serious workplace risk - particularly in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas.
That was why New Zealand Beverage Systems (NZBS), in partnership with Swedish CO₂ safety specialists LogiCO2, has been working to raise awareness across New Zealand’s hospitality and beverage industries.
The problem with CO₂ is that you can’t see or smell it.
Carbon dioxide is colourless and odourless. A leak is therefore incredibly difficult to detect without monitoring, and entering an affected area to investigate a problem in itself poses a massive health risk.
CO₂ is also heavier than air, meaning it could accumulate in lower or enclosed areas such as cool rooms, cellars, storage spaces and other areas where ventilation is limited.
For a busy hospitality or production team, this creates a particularly important consideration: What happens when nobody knows there is a leak?
A cool room could remain closed for hours. A small leak could continue unnoticed. Then a staff member enters, and walks into an environment where the atmosphere is unsafe - without even knowing.
Training and good operating procedures remain essential, but NZBS believes that relying on people to recognise an invisible and odourless hazard is not enough.
Active monitoring is key to safety.
That’s where their partnership with LogiCO2 comes in. The principle behind CO₂ monitoring is straightforward: instead of relying on someone to notice a problem, the environment is continuously monitored, and a LogiCO2 alarm system alerts you to any rising levels.
LogiCO2 systems are designed to continuously measure CO₂ concentrations and provide escalating audible and visual warnings when predefined levels are reached. Their versatile options cover multiple sensors through a central unit for large and mixed activity operations, and also standalone options for confined areas.
This provides venue operators and business owners with the peace of mind that they can have an early warning - before a situation becomes dangerous.
The systems can also identify smaller leaks that might not immediately create a dangerous concentration but could result in wasted gas, unexpected cylinder depletion and potentially disrupted service. LogiCO2 systems are not only a safety measure; they are also a way of reducing avoidable operational losses.
A gap worth addressing with rising costs in the industry.
NZBS and LogiCO2 have also been highlighting an important distinction in the New Zealand landscape.
New Zealand’s health and safety framework places broad duties on businesses to manage risks and protect workers and other people affected by their work. However, there is not currently a specific New Zealand requirement for businesses using CO₂ to install a permanent monitoring system.
For NZBS, the absence of a specific monitoring requirement has given them a simple mission: To make NZ hospitality and beverage businesses safer places.
It’s not about creating fear or adding another complicated process or cost to an already demanding operation.
It’s about making an invisible risk visible.
NZBS is now working alongside LogiCO2 to encourage hospitality businesses to consider where CO₂ is stored and used, which areas could be vulnerable, how staff would respond to an alarm, and whether monitoring should form part of their safety approach.
Because good hospitality is not only about looking after the customer at the table. It’s about making sure your patrons and the people working behind the scenes are safe.
NZBS, together with LogiCO2, is working towards a simple goal: greater awareness, better education and a safer New Zealand beverage and hospitality industry.
Want to make CO₂ safety part of your venue’s safety plan?
To find out more about LogiCO₂ monitoring solutions or discuss the right option for your venue, get in touch with the NZBS team today.
