Chopping Board Colours: Your Complete Guide

The chopping board colour indicates the type of food product (or group) that is being prepared on it. Not only does this act as a cue of visual communication, but helps to reduce the risk of cross-contamination within a kitchen. Colour-coded boards fall within ‘The Four Cs’ of food hygiene, which you can find out more about in one of our recent blogs - ‘What Are The Basic Food Hygiene Rules?’

There is the option to use a different colour-coded system, provided that this is outlined in detail in your Food Safety Management System, and your staff are made aware of the deviation from the standard. Most kitchens, however, use the same universal guidelines, which we’ve outlined below:

Raw Meat & Poultry

The red chopping board is used for raw meats, including chicken, beef, pork, turkey, pheasant, and anything in the same family. By keeping raw meat separate, you’ll reduce the risk of spreading Salmonella or E-Coli to ready-to-eat foods. 

Because some meat can be eaten raw (such as beef); you must avoid cross contamination from meats that are not safe eat raw. To do so, you must wash your chopping board between preparing different types of meat. 

Raw Rish (Including Shellfish)

Blue chopping boards are used to prepare fish that are about to be cooked. Raw fish includes fin and shellfish, as well as prawns, shrimp, muscles, clams, oysters, salmon, cod, and more.

The reason that raw fish is prepared on a separate chopping board from raw meat is because they each hold different bacteria and therefore pose different threats to one another. The same goes for the types of fish that you are preparing, which is why you should wash or change your board between preparing different types of fish. 

Cooked Meat, Poultry, & Fish

The yellow chopping boards can be used for cooked meat, poultry and fish. Interestingly, fish that is going to be served raw, such as fish found in sushi and sashimi, are safe to prepare on a yellow chopping board as they are classed as ‘ready to eat’. In this scenario, some sushi chefs prefer to use a black chopping board. 

Washed Vegetables & Fruit

The green and brown boards often get confused, due to their similarities in uses. The green chopping board is most commonly used for fruits and salad vegetables, such as lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes. Other vegetables can be chopped on a green board providing that they have been washed thoroughly (this is particularly important for root vegetables that contain traces of soil).

Unwashed Vegetables

The brown board is generally used to prepare unwashed vegetables, typically those of the root variety such as carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and beetroot. Please note that not all vegetables can be washed properly, such as mushrooms (because they just soak up water), and therefore they should always be prepared on a brown chopping board. 

If you’ve washed your root vegetables properly, by scrubbing them under warm running water, they can then be safely chopped on a green chopping board. 

Dairy Products & Bakery Items 

The white chopping board is generally used for dairy products (such as cheese or butter), as well as typical bakery products (think bread, cakes, pastry, or pizza). It’s very common for people to be allergic to dairy products, so you should take extra care to wash the board thoroughly between uses. 

Anti-Allergen Foods (Such As Gluten-Free Bread)

Whilst the purple chopping board isn’t usually included in coloured sets, it is an important addition to any kitchen. Use the purple chopping board to prepare anti-allergen foods or ‘free from’ products, such as gluten-free bread. Some kitchens may use the purple board to keep allergen foods separate; for example, to chop nuts on rather than using the green chopping board. 

Using Your Chopping Boards Safely

Without a combination of safe practices in your kitchen, colour coding your boards won’t eliminate all the risks of cross-contamination. Below, we outline a few rules to follow to maintain a high standard of food hygiene with chopping boards in your kitchen:

Clean Between Uses

Clean and disinfect your chopping boards (and knives) between uses, even if you are preparing ingredients that fall within the same food group. This helps to avoid contamination and reduces the risk of spreading allergens.

It is an important step that many don’t consider. For example, some beef may be safe to serve raw. However, if you have just used the red chopping board to prepare raw chicken, you may contaminate the beef, making it unsafe to eat. 

Colour-Coded Knives

Not only should your chopping boards follow a colour-coding system, but the accompanying knives should also be colour coded based on the item that they are chopping. This, like the boards, offers a visual cue to staff in the kitchen, ensuring that knives aren’t carrying bacteria from one food group to another. 

Swap Your Boards

You must ensure that no chopping board is used for more than a few hours at a time, even when preparing the same type, or exactly the same food. This increases the risk of bacteria growth, which is a prominent risk in a warm kitchen environment. Ensure you have multiples of the same coloured chopping boards and swap them out regularly, at least every hour. 

We cover many of these topics in-depth in our online Food Hygiene course. If you’d like to learn more about the certification and its benefits, why not read one of our recent blogs - ‘How Long Does a Food Hygiene Certificate Last?’

Both hardwood and plastic are great options for chopping boards. However, plastic sits at the top of our list for several reasons:

• easier to keep dry; 
• generally more cost-effective when compared to high-quality wooden boards;
• reduced risk of cracks developing, which harbour bacteria;
• can be cleaned in a dishwasher at a high temperature.

Are Wooden Chopping Boards Hygienic?

Yes and no. It is a common misconception that wooden chopping boards are unhygienic due to their porous surface and assuming that wood is harder to clean. However, this claim was falsely made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture several years ago and has since been debunked. In fact, some woods (such as Maple, Bamboo, or Teak) have antibacterial properties that are likely to resist or even kill bacteria. 

The reason that we deem wooden chopping boards to be unsafe is because of the colour, or instead the lack of colour variations. The colour-coded chopping board system is in place to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, acting as a cue for visual communication. If you use wooden chopping boards, you won’t be able to identify what the board has been previously used for. 

The answer is not a question of time but rather the condition of your chopping boards. If your boards no longer sit flat on the surface, they should be replaced. Bent or warped chopping boards may mean they don’t grip your surface and are more likely to slip whilst you are chopping, increasing the risk of injury. 

The most important indication of a board that needs replacing is the number of knife grooves in the surface. These marks make the chopping board harder to clean, and unknowingly trap bacteria. 

HSE Docs is an approved supplier to the central government and the public sector, so you can trust our team to bring you comprehensive online training with certificates that are recognised UK-wide. 

For as little as £4.99, you can get qualified at level 2 in Food Hygiene & Safety. The course, which can be completed in two hours, brings you in-depth information on HACCP, risk assessments, temperature control, contamination risks, chopping board colours, and much more, ensuring you meet the gold standard for Kitchen Health & Safety.

If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. For more HSE certificate courses from HSE Docs, explore our ‘Online Courses’ page.