Colour-Coded Cleaning in Commercial Kitchens - The HACCP Zone System Explained
How the colour-coded cleaning system prevents cross-contamination in commercial kitchens, and the colour-matched wipe rolls, gloves and hairnets you need to run it.
In a busy commercial kitchen, the cloth that just wiped down a raw-chicken bench should never touch the salad station. Cross-contamination - harmful bacteria moving from raw or high-risk food to ready-to-eat food - is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness, and it is exactly what a colour-coded cleaning system is built to prevent. By giving each cleaning zone its own colour across wipes, gloves, boards and hairnets, your team can tell at a glance which equipment belongs where, with no guesswork mid-service.
This guide explains how the colour-coded system works, what each colour typically means, and which colour-matched consumables you actually need to run it day to day.
The short version
- Colour-coding gives each cleaning zone one colour so raw-meat, seafood, produce and ready-to-eat areas never share equipment.
- It is a practical way to meet your cross-contamination obligations under Food Standards Code Standard 3.2.2 - not a law in itself, so document your scheme in your food safety program.
- Boards are a one-off purchase; the ongoing cost is the consumables - wipe rolls, gloves and hairnets - reordered every week.
- DPack stocks heavy-duty wipe rolls in five colours, green food-prep nitrile gloves, and crimped hairnets in white, yellow, red, green and blue.
- Free Melbourne metro delivery on orders over $150 ex GST, with carton pricing for cost certainty.
Why commercial kitchens use a colour-coded system
The core risk in any food business is cross-contamination - bacteria transferring from raw or high-risk foods to ready-to-eat foods, usually through shared equipment, cloths or hands. Under Standard 3.2.2 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, food businesses must take all practicable measures to prevent food from being contaminated, which includes keeping equipment and utensils clean and stopping them from becoming a source of contamination.
The Code sets the obligation but does not prescribe how you meet it. Colour-coding is the most widely adopted method because it removes ambiguity: a red wipe is for the raw-meat bench and nowhere else, a green cloth is for produce, and so on. When every item in a zone shares one colour, a new starter, a casual or a rushed cook during service can all apply the rule correctly without stopping to think. There is no single legislated colour standard in Australia and schemes vary slightly between suppliers, so the important thing is to choose one convention, write it into your food safety program, and apply it consistently across the kitchen.
The six cleaning zones - what each colour means
Most commercial kitchens work to a six-colour convention. Boards, wipes, gloves and cloths in each colour stay within that zone. Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your own layout.
| Colour | Zone | Typical items |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Raw meat | Chopping boards, wipe rolls, gloves |
| Blue | Raw fish and seafood | Chopping boards, wipe rolls, gloves |
| Yellow | Cooked meat and ready-to-eat | Boards, wipe rolls, hairnets |
| Green | Fruit, salad and vegetable prep | Boards, wipe rolls, gloves, hairnets |
| White | Bakery and dairy | Boards, cloths, hairnets |
| Brown | Vegetables and general surfaces | Wipe rolls, cloths |
Colour schemes differ between suppliers - some kitchens use yellow for raw poultry or brown for floors. Pick one system and record it so every shift follows the same map. Colour-coded chopping boards and cutting boards are the most recognised part of the system, but the equipment your team replaces most often is the consumables layer below.
Colour-coded consumables: the ongoing compliance layer
Boards are a one-time zone marker - buy them once and your kitchen is coded. Consumables are different: wipe rolls, gloves and hairnets are used, binned and reordered every week, which makes them where most of your day-to-day compliance spend and effort actually sits. These are the three colour-matched lines DPack keeps in stock for Melbourne food businesses.
Green, red, blue, yellow, brown
Heavy-duty wipe rolls in five zone colours
Perforated heavy-duty wipe rolls are the disposable cleaning cloth most commercial kitchens run in place of sponges - they wipe down benches, absorb spills and are binned after a task rather than re-used across zones. Stocking one colour per zone means the raw-meat bench and the salad station never share a cloth.
- Five colours to map straight onto your zone chart
- Perforated sheets on a roll for controlled, low-waste use
- Strong wet or dry for degreasing and sanitising wipe-downs
Green food-prep zone
Colour-coded nitrile gloves for low-risk food prep
Green is the recognised colour for the low-risk food-prep and produce zone, so green nitrile gloves signal at a glance that a staff member is working in the right area. Powder-free and latex-free, they suit examination-grade food-contact work and remove the allergen risk that latex gloves carry.
- Green colourway for the food-prep zone
- Powder-free and latex-free, food-safe
- Sizes small through extra-large to fit every shift
White, yellow, red, green, blue
Disposable hairnets for food-handler zones
Hair restraint is a basic food-hygiene control - loose hair is both a physical contaminant and a source of bacteria. Crimped disposable hairnets are light, breathable and single-use, and stocking them by colour lets you extend zone-coding to your staff as well as your equipment, for example green nets on the produce line and white in the bakery.
- Available in white, yellow, red, green and blue
- Crimped 21 inch and 24 inch sizes
- 100-pack boxes and 1,000-unit cartons for high-volume sites
Implementing the system: a practical kitchen cleaning checklist
Setting up colour-coding is a one-afternoon job that pays off every service. Use this kitchen cleaning checklist to roll it out cleanly:
- Map your zones. Walk the kitchen and mark each area - raw meat, seafood, produce, cooked or ready-to-eat, bakery, general - against the six-colour standard.
- Assign a colour to each zone and write it into your food safety program so the scheme is documented, not just remembered.
- Order colour-matched consumables - wipe rolls, gloves and hairnets - so every zone has its own stock from day one.
- Brief every staff member on which colour belongs to which zone and why, and put a simple colour chart on the wall.
- Set a weekly restocking schedule so no zone runs out and gets borrowed from another - the moment that happens, the system breaks.
- Record and review. Note the zone-colour assignments in your food safety logbook and check adherence during your regular cleaning audits.
This checklist covers the consumables layer of your colour-coding system; pair it with a bulk degreaser for commercial kitchens for heavy surface preparation before sanitising in the cooking and raw-meat zones.
Ordering colour-coded cleaning supplies in bulk
Running a full colour-coded system means keeping several colours of each consumable on hand, so buying by the carton keeps your per-unit cost down and your zones stocked. DPack supplies wipe rolls, nitrile gloves and hairnets to cafes, restaurants, catering operations, aged care facilities and hospitality groups across Melbourne, with wholesale pricing shown ex GST.
Orders over $150 ex GST ship free across the Melbourne metro area. You can order the whole colour range online, or talk to the trade desk if you want help matching consumables to your kitchen's zone map.
Shop the colour-coded system
Colour-matched consumables our trade customers reorder
Wholesale pricing shown ex GST · free Melbourne metro delivery over $150
Red - raw meat zone
Blue - seafood zone
Green - produce zone
Green food-prep gloves
Green zone hairnets
Colour-coding is one of the simplest, most visible ways to show an auditor - and yourself - that cross-contamination is under control. The boards set up the zones, but it is the wipe rolls, gloves and hairnets your team replaces every week that keep the system honest. Get those consumables colour-matched and reordered on schedule, and the rest looks after itself. View the full commercial cleaning and hygiene range to stock every zone in one order.
Common questions
Colour-coded cleaning FAQs
Is colour-coded cleaning a legal requirement in Australia?
No. The Food Standards Code (Standard 3.2.2) requires you to prevent cross-contamination and keep equipment clean, but it does not mandate a specific colour system. Colour-coding is a widely used, practical way to meet that obligation - document whichever scheme you adopt in your food safety program.
What do the cleaning colours mean?
The common six-colour convention is red for raw meat, blue for raw fish and seafood, yellow for cooked and ready-to-eat food, green for fruit, salad and vegetable prep, white for bakery and dairy, and brown for vegetables and general surfaces. Schemes vary between suppliers, so confirm your own and apply it consistently.
Does DPack sell colour-coded chopping boards?
DPack focuses on the colour-coded consumables you reorder - heavy-duty wipe rolls in five colours, green food-prep nitrile gloves, and hairnets in white, yellow, red, green and blue. These are the items most kitchens spend on week to week. If you already run coloured boards, our consumables map straight onto the same zones.
What colours do the wipe rolls and hairnets come in?
Heavy-duty wipe rolls are stocked in green, red, blue, yellow and brown. Crimped hairnets come in white, yellow, red, green and blue, in 21 inch and 24 inch sizes and both 100-pack boxes and 1,000-unit cartons.
Do you deliver colour-coded cleaning supplies in Melbourne?
Yes. DPack delivers across the Melbourne metro area, with free delivery on orders over $150 ex GST. Wipe rolls, gloves and hairnets are all available by the carton for cost certainty.
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