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In the food industry, the color of the equipment is not selected for aesthetics. The most common color for personal protective equipment, hand tools and equipment (e.g. colored plastics) is blue. The blue color is the least common in food products, so it is easy to notice a foreign element in this color if it is found together with the products – the cap will fall into, for example, a container with ingredients.

Color coding allows for easy and quick communication of relevant information in food processing plants, especially when implemented correctlyhttps://globalfoodhygiene.com/gloso-2/. Colour-coded programs help to check control zones and help avoid cross-contamination with bacteria and allergens, keeping your food processing facility safe.The production of meat products is associated with the risk of contamination of the product with a microbiological, physical or chemical factor. Each manufacturer of meat products is obliged to provide a product that is safe for health and suitable for consumption, in accordance with the shelf life specified on the packaging. Contaminated products that will enter the store circulation will pose a huge danger to the health and even life of the consumer. In addition, they will cause material and image losses for the manufacturer.

One of the most important factors guaranteeing the production of high-quality food is the appropriate level of hygiene. In Poland, regulations have been in force since 2006, which oblige food producers to implement the HACCP system (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).

The assumption of this system is early detection and complete elimination of threats at the time and place of their occurrence. According to these assumptions, each employee who comes into contact with the product during the processing process should have appropriate protection and follow the applicable procedures. This applies to maintaining hygiene during work on production lines, clothing, washing and disinfection processes. Lack of proper protection may also pose a threat to the employee himself.

Personal protective equipment – clothing, footwear, caps, balaclavas, masks – are also often white. White allows for the fastest identification of the hygiene status of the employee’s clothing, and reusable elements do not discolor during washing and disinfection.

Color coding can apply to almost everything and not only in the production space and in every industry (not only food). Hand tools, devices, production hall equipment, personal protective equipment and hygiene products can be color-coded. Coding can refer not only to objects or zones, but also to activities and entire processes that are one-time or cyclical during production

COLOR CODING CAN APPLY TO DIFFERENT AREAS OF THREAT PREVENTION:

• Personal protective equipment: gowns, aprons, masks, hats, bonnets, shoe covers – to identify workers working in high-risk areas and minimize the spread of pathogen contamination.
• Hand tools and auxiliary equipment: brushes, buckets, scrapers, containers, packaging, bags, containers, etc.
• Equipment of the hall in hygienic zones – so as not to transfer one type of contamination or allergens to other areas in the plant.

• Production lines or production steps and processes – eg those that contain allergens.

According to global statistics, every year 1 in 6 people get sick due to eating contaminated food, and many of these cases end in death. Loss of health and life of consumers is not the only cost of withdrawing a product from circulation. These are also environmental, image and material costs. Considering the health of recipients and the threats associated with the economic burden of foodborne diseases, global standards and procedures have developed and are no longer concerned with responding to the existing problem, but with preventing their emergence. As standards, regulations and procedures increase, it is important that food production facilities stay up to date with best hygiene practices. In many facilities, color coding has become one of the important preventive control measures to protect food from direct contamination with various foreign substances, microbial cross-contamination or allergen contamination.

Every food establishment should use color coding, although there are currently no uniform coding rules and each establishment sets its own rules (and assigns colors to zones, processes or groups). Color-coded programs are positively assessed by auditors (as, for example, an element of HACCP or Good Manufacturing Practices) and wholesale customers. Color coding developed in accordance with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) guidelines can include a food safety management system that applies to the procurement, handling, distribution and production of food on the premises of a given production facility (and not only), taking into account all types of hazards – biological, chemical and physical.

Sample color-coded zones

COLOR CODING PREVENTS – cross-infection with pathogens, allergens, contamination with foreign bodies. A hand tool, equipment or protective equipment in one production area will not come into contact with products or surfaces in another area.

COLOR CODING HELPS you work with quickly visualistinguishly ding zones, processes, tools, garments, etc. The extent to which color is used in a facility depends on how complex its production environment is.

COLOR CODING SEPARATES – zones and products based on risk.

COLOR CODING IS UNIVERSAL – it allows you to apply strict hygiene standards, regardless of which language the employee speaks. Color is the same for everyone, and the effective use of color in a well-planned program helps to improve food safety

Color coding helps workers ensure tools and PPE don’t travel between production areas, carrying pathogens and allergens where they shouldn’t. Personal protective equipment such as aprons, caps, masks, gloves or shoe covers used during food processing should be color-matched to the tools and equipment of a given zone or to the type of technological process.

Employee color coding can be used in any industry, and the color definitely makes it easier to identify who does what in a given area, what function they perform, where they can be, what qualifications or permissions they have and what shift they work on. A different color can distinguish permanent and agency/temporary employees, groups of prisoners, hospital sectors and shifts, types of treatments in spa centers, etc. Employees’ caps or masks can be of different colors, but colors do not have such a permanent and universal meaning as, for example, in the case of helmets in construction or technical areas. Here, any color is used to mark the entire department or production process, and not the functions of individual employees (e.g. green – health and safety employee, and white – construction manager).

1. First, conduct a comprehensive hazard analysis and develop a coding plan for the facility. The suitability assessment for color coding should include guidance on whether and which color coding will prevent problems.
2. Choose a simple color coding plan so that it is easy for everyone to use. It works best to choose a small number of colors (according to the needs and size of the plant) and colors that contrast with each other so that similar colors do not confuse the employee. The number of colors in the plant should be kept to a minimum so that employees are sure which pieces of equipment belong to which part of the plant. Colors must not be mixed and colors should be contrasting with the product so that it can be quickly located when there is contamination of food with an equipment item.

Any color coding scheme should take into account common forms of color blindness. According to the data, 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some type of color blindness. Avoid mixing red and green together as misperception of these colors is the most common form of this condition. Regardless of color perception, avoid pairing shades that are close together on the color wheel, such as blue and purp.

Coding of hand tools, shadow boards, PPE or other equipment should be consistent. This makes errors glaringly obvious, even from a distance.

4. Implementation of coding or changes should be done comprehensively simultaneously for the entire plant. This should be accompanied by appropriate training and visual communication in the form of instructions.
5. Criteria for monitoring, correcting and verifying the color coding plan should be established. If the plant needs help in this area, specialists from GLOBAL FOOD HYGIENE offer their own system of matching solutions and optimizing GLOSO

Proper and consistent implementation of color coding of the employee’s personal protective equipment allows you to perpetuate the culture of caring for hygiene and safety of processes. The color code reinforces the message and preserves in the memory certain behaviors that pay off with a high level of production hygiene. They also allow new employees to get used to complying with and applying stringent hygiene standards in the food industry.

EXAMPLE OF COLOR CODING OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT – HEAD PROTECTION

EXAMPLE OF COLOR CODING FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, HAND TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT