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Cleaning is paramount to keeping your food and operations free from contamination, and the tools you use for this greatly impact how protected your food is. It is also key to securing audit compliance and meeting food safety standards. 
 
However, If your tools are not stored and cared for correctly, they can become a contamination risk. This is where 5S Storage Solutions have been designed for the industry. Meaning Sort, Set, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain, it is a globally practiced storage system

Where do I start with colour coding? 

What are the non-negotiable contamination risks you need to prevent? It’s these areas that are ideal to begin managing using colour. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, and colour coding is fully customisable to your needs.    

Outlined below are some of the common colour coding practices used within the industry. If you are interested in how and why it works, click through to this blog where we outline some tips on implementing it.  

Allergen management: 
Allergen contamination is a universal concern within the food processing industry, as the consequence of this occurring is

Blue is associated as the food industry colour, as it contrasts the majority of ingredients.  

This, of course allows visual detection in the unlikely case of it falling into production. However, the use of coloured PPE has increased within the industry to manage contamination and hygiene risks, with no change to PPE quality or cost. 
 
So, why not just use blue?  
 
Reputational damage from a cross-contamination event is just not an option, not to mention the cost of this on your business. While blue allows for easier foreign object traceability, it doesn’t safe-guard from the possibility of mis-handling product, for example allergens. 
This is where colour coded PPE comes in. 

Adopting effective methods to detect and prevent foreign contaminants from entering the food supply chain is crucial for the food processing industry. Metal contaminants, such as broken machinery parts or small, and other foreign objects pose a significant risk to consumer health and can damage brand’s reputation. To mitigate these risks, food processors rely on advanced technologies like metal detection and X-ray inspection systems. Outlined below are the differences between metal-detectable and X-ray methods, highlighting their unique capabilities and applications in ensuring food safety.

Metal Detectable:

Metal detection systems are common throughout the industry, providing a reliable means of identifying and removing metallic contaminants from food products. These systems use electromagnetic fields to detect the presence of ferrous, non-ferrous, and stainless-steel metals. Smaller objects that are unavoidable around the production area s

In the food industry, safety is paramount, and hand protection is no exception. Cut-resistant gloves are a critical component in ensuring worker safety. But with so many ratings and standards out there, it can become confusing to navigate and understand them all. In this blog post, we aim to simplify and explain the different cut ratings and standards, both old and new, that dictate the level of protection offered by cut-resistant gloves.

Understanding Cut Ratings and Standards

Before diving into specifics, it's essential to understand what cut ratings are and why they matter. In simple terms, cut ratings indicate the level of cut resistance offered by a glove. Higher cut ratings mean that the gloves offer better protection against cuts. These ratings are standardized by various bodies, each with different testing methods and rating systems.

1. EN388 (European Standard)

The EN388 standard is a popular and widely

Could your waste be of value?

Efficiency and time are crucial factors for the success of any production site, to meet efficiency standards while reducing environmental impact. Although waste is an inevitable by-product of production, utilizing coloured bin liners allows for more efficient management and disposal of waste.

How can coloured bin liners help?

Colour coding has proven successful throughout the industry, as its quick visual recognition allows employees to speedily distinguish between ingredients. This prevents any potential health hazards such as cross-contamination. Coloured bin liners could be utilised in this same way. For example, to segregate ingredients that can be reused, recycled, composted, or that are potentially harmful.

A food processing plant has one of the highest responsibilities to maintain hygiene standards, which promotes the need for both spontaneous and deep, regular cleaning. Wipes are part of both these processes and are indispensable to the food processing industry.

How do I get the full benefit out of my wipes? It is first important to consider what situation your wipes are used in. Considering the machinery, surfaces, chemicals, and ingredients will clarify which spec suits your needs.

Material composition and absorbency

A wipe is made from a combination of synthetic fibres and either paper or viscose. The synthetic fibres give the wipe strength and allow the wipe to hold its shape, whereas the paper or viscose (wood pulp turned into fabric) increases the absorbency. Therefore,

In the food processing industry, choosing the right type of glove can be a challenging decision, as it is one of the most critical food processing consumables. Often However, the length of the cuff is a forgotten consideration. Explore the differences between long cuff and short cuff gloves and help you determine which one is right for your food processing needs.

Short cuff gloves, or standard cuffs, are typically 240mm (from cuff to tip of middle finger) and normally extend to the wrist.

Long cuff nitrile gloves are typically 280-300mm long (from cuff to tip of middle finger). Extending past the wrist.

Extra-long cuff are also available, ranging from 400mm and even up to 600mm. These gloves can extend up the arm, often up to the elbow or even higher.

Which One is Right for You?

Disposable gloves are used in such a vast array of circumstances, across many industries.

There are many subtle differences in gloves,

In the food processing industry, workers are often exposed to various work environments that require different types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to maintain hygiene standards. Among the body parts most susceptible to harm are the hands, which are prone to burns, cuts, and exposure to harmful chemicals.

To facilitate easier hand insertion, a grey-coloured coating is applied on the inside of rubber latex gloves. So-called silver lined gloves are generally thicker and offer better resistance to chemical and abrasive hazards than disposable nitrile gloves, making them a good choice for tasks that require heavy-duty protection. They also have better temperature resistance than disposable gloves.

Although silverlined latex gloves are an excellent option for protecting against these risks, a small percentage (less than 1%) of individuals may experience allergic reactions.

In the food processing industry, colour coding is an effective way to prevent cross-contamination and reduce the risk of allergen exposure.
Designating a specific colour to different ingredients or parts of the process allows employees to identify and maintain food safety standards quickly.

When deciding which colours to use, it's important to start by identifying which ingredients require segregation. For example, if you have allergens such as nuts or gluten in your food processing site, it's important to consider the colour