Utensil colour coding step by step 1 Identify the risks You’ll want to start your colour-coding project by identifying all the associated food-safety hazards (allergens, microorganisms, foreign bodies, etc.) in your production setup. Note that this will vary depending on the type of food you produce, your production processes, your customer segment and relevant legal and compliance requirements. 2 Choose your strategy Once you have identified the hazards and their associated risk, you’ll need to choose the most appropriate strategy for colour coding the utensils in your facility. Commonly used strategies are: Colour coding by use With usage-based colour coding, you’ll want to designate specific colours to specific usage scenarios. For example, you might choose specific colours for utensils used to handle ingredients or products containing allergens. Colour coding by process This is often used at manufac- turing and processing plants where processes need to be kept separate to prevent cross- contamination. For example, colour coding can distinguish utensils used for different types of products. Colour coding by zone In this case, you would assign different colours to tools used in different zones. This prevents cross-contamination between zones, e.g. high-risk cooked product zones versus low-risk raw product zones, and helps to keep your staff accountable for the tools used in their particular work zones. 3 Prepare your colour coding plan At Vikan, we not only supply a full range of food-handling utensils in a variety of colours. We also provide extensive support in setting up your colour-coding plan. The best way to get started is to visit Vikan.com.
Download PDF file