A system of assigning different colours to chopping boards, knives and utensils for different food types to reduce cross-contamination.
No. It is a voluntary good-practice tool. The Code requires businesses to prevent cross-contamination and to keep equipment cleanable (Standards 3.2.2 and 3.2.3), but it does not mandate any particular colour system.
A widely used scheme is red for raw meat, blue for raw seafood, yellow for raw poultry, green for fruit and vegetables, brown for cooked meat, and white for dairy or bakery. Schemes vary, so follow your own venue's chart.
No. Colours only tell staff which item to use for which food. Each board, knife or cloth must still be cleaned and, where needed, sanitised between uses. The colour prevents mix-ups; cleaning removes the contamination.
Yes. Many businesses colour-code cloths and mops so a cloth used for toilets or floors is never used on food-contact surfaces. This helps stop contamination spreading from dirty areas to food areas.
Replace boards that are deeply scored, cracked or warped. Deep grooves trap food and bacteria and cannot be cleaned reliably, so a damaged board is a contamination risk regardless of its colour.