Why Do You Use Blue Plasters in Cooking?

Blue plasters are used in the kitchen because, in the event that your plaster falls off, their bright colour will make them easy to spot and dispose of.

Have you ever wondered “Why do I need to use a blue plaster in cooking?” or “Why do I need to wear this bright colour that draws attention to my injury when cooking?”  – then here is the ultimate guide to answering those questions for you. 

A cut is one of the most common injuries you can get- especially within the food hygiene and preparation realm- therefore, being able to correctly protect yourself and your customers is vital. 

Let’s break this down into more detail.

1. Colour

When in a professional cooking environment, the blue colour has been signalled as being able to be effective in being visible within your kitchen. This makes it obvious that you have a cut, as well as making it clear that you are following basic health and safety precautions. 

Spotting a blue plaster in your food preparation areas makes it easy to identify for both worker and customer if it has been lost.

The colour blue has even been scientifically proven to be a cognitive enhancer, meaning a colour that can improve memory and alertness. The colour of the plaster can therefore help to trigger the mind faster that it has fallen off and is no longer covering your cut. Metal detectable blue plasters are also incredibly important as a strip of metal is added to the plaster for further detectability should it be lost.

2. Hygiene

Plasters, blue or not, have been used for hygiene purposes in the workplace and households since the 1920s. 

The blue plaster makes it obvious to both customers and to yourself that you are trying to avoid spreading bacteria into the cooking. By not wearing a plaster and thus having exposed wounds on your food preparation area, this can lead to a clear observation of a lowering of food hygiene standards. Wounds tend to gather more bacteria, this can be damaging for the health and safety of your company, as well as your reputation if you were to spread a strand of food poisoning.

3. Protect Yourself

The plaster itself will allow you to protect yourself from getting an infected cut, scrape or scratch. Covering your injury or ailment with a blue plaster will help with covering your injury from outside influences and allows your wound to stay clean and have time to heal.

Plasters help to reduce your chance of your wound getting infected as the plaster creates a barrier between the wound and the bacteria. 

Plasters also have various other benefits such as further protection from reopening your wounds accidentally, as well as speeding up the healing process by absorbing fluid whilst also keeping the wound moist. 

This process of covering the wound is highly encouraged to speed up the process of healing.

4. Health and Safety Code

The health and safety code and legislation for health and safety requires you to cover wounds in the workplace environment. 

The legislation, as stated in the Food Safety Act 1990 and endorsed by the Food Standards Agency, goes as follows: 

“Any wound should be covered with a waterproof plaster. This should be in a ‘visible’ colour (usually blue) so that it is easily spotted if it were to fall off.”

By not following the practices as set out by the Food Safety Act 1990, this would result in a lower Food Hygiene Rating by the Food Standards Agency, and if compiled with other health and safety issues, could result in your closure.

It is therefore important to ensure blue plasters are worn in the workplacet, and that you maintain great cleaning standards all year round – especiallyas health and safety inspectors can turn up unannounced. 

Using blue plasters when cooking shows to your customers that you are following health and safety legislation.

Conclusion

To conclude, blue plasters are used in cooking for various health and safety reasons. This includes the elements of everyone being safe, visibility, hygiene purposes and to avoid contamination. Overall, this will make your workplace safer and will allow your injury to heal faster.

Make sure to provide blue plasters, especially metal detectable plasters, when working in a cooking setting to ensure your business follows all the correct health and safety procedures that keeps staff and customers safe. 

Written by Luthien for Morsafe Supplies.