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Color of Apron (white or blue) or does it not matter?

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CaliforniaFS

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Posted 10 January 2017 - 04:52 PM

Hello everyone,

 

Happy new year.

 

Question about the color of apron. Does it have to be a specific color (white or blue) or does it not matter? I plan on ordering new ones. This will be my first time undergoing a BRC audit. Our previous colored smocks were a light blue, however they have pockets and our supplier can not supply us with pocketless. We are purchasing a cobbler that is pocketless.

 

Please share your opinions.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 



GMO

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Posted 10 January 2017 - 04:55 PM

In one factory I worked in we had bright red coats!  No colour does not matter but depending on your foodstuffs, a lot of people have white because it shows up dirt well so it means that you can see when one needs changing.  Then if you have colour coding for different areas, they establish that through different colour collars.  Depends who you are ordering them from as well.  Might be worth doing it on cost as if there is a "typical" colour it's more likely to be in stock and cheaper.



nile

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 04:11 AM

Colour does not matter, as we have different colour codes apron for different section and thus it prevent cross contamination between personnel handling raw food and personnel handling cooked food.



Charles.C

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 07:11 AM

i always thought blue was recommended (relative to white) for overwrapping frozen block products due to the relative ease in spotting fragments in the finished product. Plastic aprons in the seafood business IMEX are usually blue unless there is a raw/cooked separation.

 

No idea what a cobbler is (regarding clothing). I anticipate that BRC will like pocketless even if it's below table level.


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


CaliforniaFS

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 03:21 PM

i always thought blue was recommended (relative to white) for overwrapping frozen block products due to the relative ease in spotting fragments in the finished product. Plastic aprons in the seafood business IMEX are usually blue unless there is a raw/cooked separation.

 

No idea what a cobbler is (regarding clothing). I anticipate that BRC will like pocketless even if it's below table level.

Thank you, this is a Cobbler apron. I chose this because it gets very hot at our facility. We will use disposable sleeves and gloves in addition to this.

Here is a link to the image of a cobbler apron.

The one I want to use does not have gloves.

http://www.apronoutf...maxx=300&maxy=0



Charles.C

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 04:10 PM

Thank you, this is a Cobbler apron. I chose this because it gets very hot at our facility. We will use disposable sleeves and gloves in addition to this.

Here is a link to the image of a cobbler apron.

The one I want to use does not have gloves.

http://www.apronoutf...maxx=300&maxy=0

 

Wow !. Where is the Production facility ? Las Vegas ?.


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


CaliforniaFS

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 04:13 PM

Wow !. Where is the Production facility ? Las Vegas ?.

We are in California, during the summer it can get up to 113 F outside and our facility gets up to 85 F.  It's hard to keep cool.



Scampi

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Posted 11 January 2017 - 06:11 PM

You could save money and have the pockets sewn shut if the company already paid for the ones you currently have!  Bosses like it when you can occasionally save some $$$$ Lol


Please stop referring to me as Sir/sirs


J0hn

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Posted 13 February 2017 - 07:49 AM

I always follow the rule that if there is a risk to product contamination - it should be a contrasting colour. I work in a vegetable factory so hairnets, overcoats, pens and things like conveyor belts are generally blue.

 

John



GMO

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Posted 14 February 2017 - 10:04 AM

I've worked in bakery which got to 45oC (110F), we had full clothing change there.  I've worked in dairy at well above 30oC (85F) and we used full coats.  In the UK a cobbler apron would be called a "tabard".  It's only really worn by cleaning staff working in offices and even then it's rare nowadays.  It's not really designed to stop product contamination but to prevent the worker's clothing getting dirty.

 

I would struggle to see how that protects your foodstuffs.  What are you making?



CaliforniaFS

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Posted 13 March 2017 - 04:25 PM

Just a follow up.

Ours worked just fine.

 

Since we are a low risk facility.

 

I appreciate everyone's responses always.



ChefJamesHB

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Posted 31 March 2017 - 08:04 PM

I know that for most audits (Such as those for BRC, SQF, GFSI, etc), you are not allowed to have any pockets above the waist. (That might be considered a GMP as well, actually.)   As long as its not above the waist, then its okay.   Also, the color of the coats really depends on your Color Coding policy, if your company has one.   If you establish that within Zone A, they only wear Blue Coats, while Zone B only wears Red coats, then it is expected that you follow that procedure. The reason for Zoning in such a way, and therefore requiring different coats, would be for visual aid in segregation of specific zones, or products, or allergens, etc in order to prevent any occurrence of cross-contamination and/or cross-contact.

 

So lets say you have Zone A, which is meant for cooking Raw meat, and then you have Zone B for packaging that meat, it would make sense to have employees wear separate colored smocks or coats in order to visually differentiate between the different zones, and know who is supposed to be where at any given point in time.  Or, say for example, you have an RTE packaging room and a non-RTE packaging room. You would need to be able to tell the difference between employees of the differing rooms quickly & efficiently, so maybe the best way to do that is by Color coding - including with employee use of smocks or coats. 

One more example would be that you are segregating allergens between production lines. In order to know what allergen is being handled on which line, and who is supposed to be where at any given time, its easiest to know that Red means XYZ allergen, and Blue means ZYX allergen. It all depends on your color coding system, if the company has one.  (Which, i recommend having one).

 

That's just my understanding of it. I hope this helped.





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