Coloured Gloves

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 of those ingredients and choose a contrasting colour for the gloves used to handle them.
for instance, you could choose orange gloves for nuts and green gloves for gluten.

When selecting gloves, it's important to choose a colour that is available and meets your foreign object and allergen contamination risk requirements.

Wearing gloves that match the colour of your ingredients increases the likelihood of contamination, as the particles from the gloves will blend in and
become more difficult to identify among the ingredients. It is very rare to find blue foods – meaning blue is the colour chosen for standard food processing gloves –
and other contrasting colours are used to distinguish specific allergens.

Having a colour-coding system that is too complex can will lead to unintended consequences and increase the risk of contamination.
With too many intricate colour schemes and combinations, it can be easy for someone to mix up or overlook which colour corresponds to which ingredient.
this will likely result in an accidental cross-contamination incident, which could be detrimental. Hence simplifying your colour-coding system is fundamental.

To ensure the effectiveness of the colour-coding system, it's important to pair it with written and verbal instructions and reminders.

For example, you could display signs near each station reminding employees which colour gloves to use and verbally instruct them during training and daily briefings.

This helps to reinforce the process in the minds of regular staff and minimize errors made by visitors and casual staff.

Ensuring food safety and avoiding contamination is a shared goal between you and us. It is crucial for maintaining the reputation of your business and protecting the health
of our communities to have a clear understanding of ingredients that can be harmful and a management system around these.
This should be the central consideration in all food processing environments."