After cleaning the inside of a pizza oven with a steel wire brush, the food worker should consider the potential food hazard of bristles from the brush. When using a steel wire brush, there is a risk that tiny bristles may loosen and remain in the oven. If these bristles are inadvertently transferred to the pizza during cooking, they could pose a choking hazard or cause injury to individuals consuming the pizza.
While heat from the oven is an important safety factor, cooking at high temperatures primarily addresses the risk of bacterial contamination, such as listeria monocytogenes. However, in this particular scenario, the immediate concern is the physical hazard posed by any detached bristles, which could endanger public health.