Zoning cleaning equipment, food handling tools, and other equipment and utensils into well-planned, color-coded areas enables you to achieve even more in the food safety field by reducing the risk of cross-contamination from one area to another.
Color coding is easy to implement if done correctly from the start. This guide gives you a brief introduction to the benefits of color coding – and some practical tips on how to put it into practice.
Color coding helps ensure greater food safety by making it easier to more effectively separate processes, zones, and equipment in your food production setup, and thus minimize cross-contamination. Color coding can be embedded into your work processes as a natural part of your Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)s, or as a proactive risk-reduction step as part of your HACCP prerequisite program.
The GFSI (General Food Safety Initiative) approved food standards BRC, FSSC22000, IFS, and SQF all require special measures to prevent cross-contact and cross-contamination. Color coding is ideally suited to this. In the BRC standard, it is mandatory that your cleaning equipment is suitably identified for intended use, which could mean color coding.
Use contrasting colors. Color contrast enables you to easily spot plastic fragments or stray bristles from food production equipment. You should, of course, always inspect and replace cleaning equipment and food-handling tools as soon as they begin to show signs of wear.
1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women are color-blind. Use different shades and contrasts to make it easier for color-blind staff to differentiate colors. If in doubt, take a photo of the colors and convert the photo into black and white. If you can tell the difference, the shade differentiation is strong enough.
We recommend not combining colors on individual tools or tool groups but instead using the same color for handles as well as broom/ squeegee heads
Keep it simple. Limit the number of colors as much as possible. Do not try to assign colors for each and every step of a complicated process. If the color-coding system is too complicated, your staff may not understand or follow it.
The colors you select should make sense to your employees. If possible, you should select colors that are logically associated with a specific zone or food product, though they should still visually contrast.
Support your color-coding system with good signage (using images or multilingual text where necessary) to ensure it is followed correctly. Avoid complicated color combinations. We recommend not combining colors on individual tools or tool groups, but instead using the same color for handles as well as broom/ squeegee heads.
Implement your color-coding system within all the zones affected at the same time. For greater clarity, have a definite date for phasing out your old system, and a clear start date for your new color-coded system.
Meet with each of your shift managers first to ensure they understand the system, then roll out the program to other employees.
We recommend using the standard colors (green, blue, red, white, and yellow) in the larger color zones where many different kinds of cleaning equipment and food handling tools are needed. You can use other colors – such as pink, orange, purple, and lime – in smaller areas focused on high risk and allergen control that use fewer pieces of cleaning equipment and food handling tools.
Make sure tools are stored in the same area where they are used, and use color-coded storage, such as shadow boards and wall brackets.
Ensure your purchasing department, quality manager, and employees use the same documentation so everyone can follow the same system.
Regularly monitor and review your color-coding plan and check and maintain your equipment to maximize your control of cross-contamination.
In the food production and processing industry, tightly controlled systems and procedures are essential for complying with regulations – and ensuring food safety. A color-coding system for your work areas, tools, and equipment is a simple way to prevent cross-contamination and ensures you are better prepared to meet GFSI-approved food safety standards. When correctly implemented, color-coding should be easy to follow and encourage employees to take extra responsibility for food safety and cleanliness in their work area.