How to Record a Cloth Use Video for Your Food Safety Management System

Step 1: Set the scene and context

Cloths, wipes, and towels might seem like simple cleaning items, but they're actually one of the most significant sources of cross-contamination in any kitchen—both microbiological and allergenic. A cloth used to wipe down a raw meat prep surface can transfer harmful bacteria to every other surface it touches. A cloth used on a surface containing allergens can spread those allergens throughout your kitchen, potentially causing a serious reaction in a customer with an allergy.

Your team needs to understand that cloths aren't just for cleaning—they're a critical control point in your food safety system. The wrong cloth in the wrong place, or a dirty cloth being used repeatedly, can undo all the other food safety measures you have in place.

Where to film this video:

Film in your kitchen where cloths are used daily. Set up near your cleaning station or the area where you store cloths, paper rolls, and cleaning supplies. Have examples of each type of cloth you use available—single-use blue paper rolls, reusable cloths in different colours, oven cloths, and any other wiping materials your team uses.

What to have ready:

• Blue centre-feed paper rolls (single-use)
• Reusable cloths in your colour-coded colours
• Oven cloths/chefs' cloths
• Your colour-coding chart or policy
• A designated dirty cloth storage container
• Examples of J-cloths if you use them
• Aprons for demonstrating cloth storage

Start your video by explaining:

"This video covers cloth use—one of the most overlooked sources of cross-contamination in the kitchen. Cloths can spread bacteria and allergens from surface to surface if we don't use them correctly. I'm going to show you the different types of cloths we use, our colour-coding system, when to use single-use versus reusable cloths, and how to make sure cloths are properly cleaned. Getting this wrong can spread contamination faster than almost anything else in the kitchen, so pay attention to every detail."

Step 2: Plan what to record versus what to write down

Cloth use training combines physical demonstration with clear policies about colour-coding and laundering. Split your content strategically.

Best for video (on camera):

• Demonstrating the different types of cloths and when to use each
• Showing your colour-coding system and what each colour means
• Demonstrating single-use wipes being used and disposed of correctly
• Showing how to store dirty reusable cloths safely
• Explaining why carrying oven cloths around is problematic
• Demonstrating the corrective action when a dirty cloth has been used incorrectly

Best for supporting written text:

• Your complete colour-coding chart with specific area assignments
• Laundering requirements (90°C wash cycle)
• Storage locations for clean and dirty cloths
• Checklist for opening/closing cloth and paper roll stock levels
• Corrective action procedures
• Record-keeping requirements

Example written reference to include:

Colour-Coded Cloth System:
GREEN → Front of house and bar areas
BLUE → Kitchen and food preparation areas
RED → Toilets and dirty areas (NEVER in food areas)

Cloth Rules Quick Reference:
□ Single-use wipes preferred wherever contamination risk exists
□ One cloth = one task (no multi-purpose use)
□ Dirty reusable cloths → designated storage immediately
□ Laundering: 90°C wash cycle required
□ Oven cloths: never carry around, never use for wiping surfaces
□ Paper rolls low? → report immediately, check in opening/closing

Step 3: Core rules and requirements

Cover the essential knowledge your team needs about the different types of cloths and how each must be used.

Rule 1: Cloths are a major contamination source

Begin by making the risk clear: "Cloths of any description can be a major source of cross-contamination—both microbiological and allergenic. A cloth picks up bacteria and allergen residue from every surface it touches. If you wipe down a raw chicken prep area and then use that same cloth to wipe a ready-to-eat food area, you've just transferred potentially harmful bacteria and any allergens present. This is why we have strict rules about cloth use."

Rule 2: Single-use wipes are preferred

Explain the safest option: "Any situation where using a cloth or wipe could potentially spread contamination, we should preferably use single-use disposable blue centre-feed paper rolls. Single-use means exactly that—use it once, dispose of it. These rolls are blue so that if any paper accidentally gets into food, it's easily visible and can be removed."

Explain the exception: "In some circumstances, when a cloth is being used for a single task only with no contamination risk, it may be acceptable to use a J-cloth or similar for a longer period—but only if there's genuinely no risk of cross-contamination. When in doubt, use single-use."

Rule 3: Reusable cloths—single use or single task only

Explain when reusable cloths are appropriate: "Sometimes we need a harder-wearing cloth that won't disintegrate when wet. These reusable cloths must be used for either a single use or a single task only, then stored safely for laundering. You cannot use a reusable cloth for one task and then move on to another task with the same cloth. Once it's been used, it goes in the designated dirty cloth storage."

Rule 4: Colour-coding system

Explain your colour-coding policy: "We use a colour-coding system so that cloths from different areas never get mixed up. This is a critical control to prevent cross-contamination between areas.

Our system is:

• Green cloths are for front of house and bar areas
• Blue cloths are for kitchen and food preparation areas
• Red cloths are for toilets and dirty areas

Red cloths must never, ever enter a food area. If you see a red cloth anywhere near food preparation, remove it immediately and report it. The colour-coding system only works if everyone follows it consistently."

Rule 5: Oven cloths and chefs' cloths

Explain the specific rules for oven cloths: "Separate chefs' cloths and tea towels must be used only for drying or holding hot items—that's their sole purpose. Food handlers should not carry these cloths around with them. Carrying an oven cloth on your shoulder or tucked into your apron discourages hand washing—you end up wiping your hands on the cloth instead of washing them. These cloths can also pick up contamination from surfaces and then spread it around the kitchen."

Tell your team: "If you need to handle something hot, get an oven cloth, use it for that purpose, then put it back in its designated spot. Don't carry it around with you."

Rule 6: Laundering requirements

Explain the cleaning standard: "Reusable cloths must be thoroughly washed and disinfected after each task. The wash cycle must achieve a temperature of 90°C to kill bacteria effectively. Lower temperatures won't properly disinfect the cloths. Cloths that have been used but not yet laundered must be stored in designated areas—never left on surfaces or mixed with clean cloths."

Step 4: Demonstrate or walk through

Show your team exactly how to use cloths correctly in different scenarios. Use detailed narration so they can replicate exactly what you're showing.

Demonstrating single-use paper rolls

Basic single-use technique:

"Here's our blue centre-feed paper roll. Let me show you the correct way to use it."

"I'm about to wipe this surface after cleaning a raw meat prep area. I pull off a generous section—enough to cover the area I'm wiping without running out midway through. Watch: I'm pulling from the centre and tearing cleanly."

"I wipe the surface in one direction, folding the paper as I go so I'm always using a clean section. I'm not wiping back and forth, which would just spread contamination around."

"Now the important part: this paper goes straight in the bin. I don't set it down 'for a second.' I don't save it 'in case I need it again.' One use, then bin. Immediately."

"The temptation is to think 'this still looks clean, I'll use it again.' But you can't see bacteria. That paper has picked up whatever was on the surface I just wiped—potentially thousands of bacteria from the raw meat area. If I set it down, I contaminate whatever I set it on. If I use it again, I spread that contamination to the next surface."

Multi-step cleaning with single-use paper:

"Let me show you how to use single-use paper for a two-stage clean—detergent first, then sanitiser."

"I've sprayed degreaser on this surface. I'm pulling off paper and wiping. This paper has now picked up the grease, the food debris, all the contamination from this surface. It goes in the bin."

"Now I apply sanitiser. Watch: I pull off FRESH paper for this stage. I'm not reusing the paper from the first stage. That paper was covered in everything I just cleaned off—if I used it again, I'd be spreading that contamination back across the surface I'm trying to sanitise."

"Fresh paper, wipe the sanitiser, this goes in the bin too. Two wipes, two pieces of paper, both disposed of immediately."

Identifying when single-use is mandatory:

"Let me be clear about when single-use paper is not optional—it's required."

"After wiping raw meat or fish prep areas: single-use. After cleaning up spills that may contain allergens: single-use. After wiping any surface where there's a risk of cross-contamination to ready-to-eat foods: single-use."

"If you're ever unsure whether you should use single-use paper or a reusable cloth, choose single-use. It's always the safer option."

Demonstrating colour-coded reusable cloths

Understanding your colour system:

"Here are our colour-coded cloths. Let me explain what each colour means in our kitchen."

"Blue cloths are for kitchen and food preparation areas. If I'm working in the kitchen, I use blue."

"Green cloths are for front of house and bar areas. These never come into the kitchen."

"Red cloths are for toilets and dirty areas. Red cloths must NEVER enter food areas. If you see a red cloth anywhere near food—anywhere in this kitchen at all—remove it immediately and report it."

The complete process for using a reusable cloth:

"Let me show you the full process from start to finish."

"I'm in the kitchen and I need a cloth to wipe down this stainless steel prep table after sanitising. I go to our clean cloth storage—notice all the cloths in here are blue because we're in the kitchen."

"I take ONE clean cloth. Just one. I'm not grabbing a handful 'in case I need them.' One task, one cloth."

"I complete my task: wiping down the prep table. The cloth has done its job. Now here's what happens next—and this is where people often go wrong."

"The cloth goes STRAIGHT into the dirty cloth container. Not back with the clean cloths—it's been used. Not left on the surface—someone might think it's clean. Not tucked into my apron—it would contaminate my apron and everything I touch. Straight into dirty storage."

"If I now need to wipe something else—another surface, another task—I get a FRESH clean cloth. I don't continue using the one I just used. One task, one cloth. Then dirty storage."

Common scenarios with reusable cloths:

"Let me walk through some common scenarios."

"Scenario one: I've wiped down my prep station. The cloth goes to dirty storage. I now need to wipe down the shelf above. I get a fresh cloth."

"Scenario two: I've wiped the inside of a fridge. The cloth goes to dirty storage. I now need to wipe the prep table. Fresh cloth."

"Scenario three: I'm wiping multiple similar surfaces that definitely haven't had different types of food on them—like wiping several empty stainless steel shelves during deep cleaning. Even here, one cloth per task. The cloth gets dirtier with each wipe; by the third shelf, I'm moving contamination from the first two shelves onto the third."

"The rule is simple: when in doubt, fresh cloth."

Demonstrating dirty cloth storage

The storage system:

"This is our designated dirty cloth storage container. Let me show you how it works."

"The container is clearly labelled 'DIRTY CLOTHS' so there's no confusion. It's positioned away from food preparation areas and away from clean cloth storage. Dirty cloths going in cannot contaminate clean cloths or food."

"When I finish using a reusable cloth, it goes straight in here. Watch: I open the lid, drop the cloth in, close the lid. Immediate. I don't carry the dirty cloth around looking for a bin. I don't set it down 'for a moment.' Into the container immediately."

"At the end of service, this entire container of cloths goes for laundering. They'll be washed at 90°C to kill bacteria, then returned to clean storage."

What NOT to do with dirty cloths:

"Let me show you what NOT to do—the mistakes I see regularly."

"Don't leave dirty cloths on surfaces." I'm placing a used cloth on the prep table. "Now this surface is contaminated. And the next person who comes along might pick up this cloth thinking it's clean and spread that contamination to whatever they're wiping."

"Don't put dirty cloths in the sink." I'm putting a cloth in the wash-up sink. "Now anything washed in this sink risks contamination. The cloth sits in water, bacteria multiply, and the whole sink becomes a contamination source."

"Don't tuck dirty cloths into your apron." I'm tucking a cloth into my apron strings. "Now my apron is contaminated. Everything I lean against, everything I brush past, picks up that contamination. And I'm probably going to absent-mindedly wipe my hands on this cloth later—contaminating my hands."

"The only place for a dirty cloth is the dirty cloth container. Immediately. Every time."

Demonstrating oven cloth discipline

The correct approach:

"Here's our oven cloth station. The oven cloths live here when not in use."

"I need to move a hot pan from the oven. Watch my process: I walk to the oven cloth station, I collect a cloth, I go to the oven, I use the cloth to handle the hot pan, I return the cloth to its station immediately."

"Notice what I didn't do: I didn't tuck the cloth into my apron when I collected it. I didn't drape it over my shoulder. I collected it, used it, returned it. The whole interaction took about thirty seconds."

Why carrying oven cloths is a problem:

"Let me explain why chefs carrying oven cloths around is such a problem."

"First: you stop washing your hands properly." I'm demonstrating tucking a cloth into my apron. "Now every time my hands feel damp or dirty, I wipe them on this cloth. Instead of washing my hands, I wipe. Instead of washing after handling raw chicken, I wipe. My hands are never actually clean because I'm using this cloth as a hand-washing substitute."

"Second: the cloth picks up contamination from everything it touches." I'm walking around with the cloth. "It brushes against the pass. It touches my apron, which has touched other surfaces. It contacts the walk-in door handle when I go in and out. Every contamination source in the kitchen ends up on this cloth."

"Third: that contamination transfers to my hands and to hot items." I'm picking up the cloth that's been tucked in my apron. "Now whatever was on my apron, on the surfaces I've touched, is on my hands via this cloth. I then use this cloth to handle food going to a customer."

"The solution is simple: oven cloths stay in their place. Collect when needed, use, return immediately. If you find yourself wanting to carry an oven cloth around for convenience, that's a sign you should probably be washing your hands instead."

Demonstrating corrective action for cloth misuse

Finding a dirty cloth in use:

"Let me show you what to do when you discover cloth misuse—and you will encounter this at some point."

"I've just found this dirty cloth on the prep station. Someone used it and left it here instead of putting it in dirty storage."

"Step one: Remove the cloth immediately. I'm picking it up and putting it in the dirty cloth container where it should have gone in the first place."

"Step two: The surface this cloth was sitting on is now contaminated. I need to clean and disinfect this prep station before anyone uses it for food. I'm getting single-use paper, degreaser, and sanitiser."

"Step three: I need to find out how long this cloth has been here and whether anyone has used this surface since. If someone has been prepping food on a surface contaminated by a dirty cloth, that food may be compromised."

"Step four: Report this. Not to get anyone in trouble, but so we can retrain whoever left the cloth here. If they did it once, they'll do it again unless they understand why it's wrong."

Finding the wrong colour cloth in an area:

"Here's a situation that's even more serious. I've found a red cloth in the kitchen."

"Red cloths are for toilets only. A red cloth has picked up whatever is on toilet surfaces—and I don't need to describe what that includes."

"This cloth must be removed from the food area immediately. Every surface it may have contacted needs cleaning and disinfection. I need to trace back where this cloth has been—what did it touch, what food preparation happened nearby?"

"This is exactly why colour-coding exists. If all cloths were the same colour, this contamination could happen without anyone noticing. The red colour is a warning signal: this should not be here."

Stock level management

Checking and reporting supplies:

"Let me show you where our cloth and paper supplies are stored and how to check them."

"This is our clean cloth storage. At the start of each shift, check: do we have enough clean cloths to get through service? If the storage is running low, report it immediately."

"Here are our paper roll supplies. Same check: do we have enough? A paper roll can get used up quickly during a busy service. If we're down to the last roll or two, report it."

"Why does this matter? Because running out of proper supplies forces people to improvise. And improvisation with cloths means contamination."

"If we run out of single-use paper, someone will start reusing paper, or use a cloth where paper was safer. If we run out of clean cloths, someone will keep using a dirty cloth longer than they should. Every improvisation increases contamination risk."

"Prevention is simple: check stock levels, report low supplies, never let yourself get into a position where the only option is to compromise on cloth safety."

Step 5: Common mistakes to avoid

Cover the cloth use errors that create contamination risks.

Mistake 1: Using one cloth for multiple purposes

"The most common mistake is using a single cloth for multiple tasks or surfaces. You wipe down the raw prep area, then use the same cloth for the cooked food area—you've just transferred contamination. One cloth, one task. Then it goes to dirty storage or the bin. No exceptions."

Mistake 2: Carrying oven cloths around

"Chefs often tuck an oven cloth into their apron or drape it over their shoulder for convenience. This is a serious hygiene issue. The cloth picks up contamination from everything it touches, it discourages proper hand washing, and it can spread bacteria and allergens around the entire kitchen. Oven cloths stay in their designated spot—collect when needed, return immediately after use."

Mistake 3: Ignoring the colour-coding system

"Using the wrong colour cloth in an area defeats the entire purpose of colour-coding. A green cloth from front of house should never be in the kitchen. A red cloth from the toilets should never be anywhere near food. If you find a cloth in the wrong area, remove it immediately. Colour-coding only protects us if everyone follows it."

Mistake 4: Not checking stock levels

"Running out of paper rolls or clean cloths forces people to improvise—and improvisation with cloths means contamination. Check stock levels as part of your opening and closing checks. If blue centre-feed rolls are running low, report it immediately so we can restock before we run out. Never be in a position where the only option is to reuse a dirty cloth."

Mistake 5: Leaving dirty cloths on surfaces

"A used cloth left on a surface looks like a clean cloth to the next person who comes along. They might pick it up and use it, spreading whatever contamination was on it. The moment a cloth is used, it goes to dirty storage or the bin. Never leave it sitting on a counter, in a sink, or anywhere it could be mistaken for clean."

Mistake 6: Laundering at the wrong temperature

"Reusable cloths must be washed at 90°C to properly kill bacteria. Lower temperatures—even 60°C—won't achieve the same level of disinfection. If your laundry equipment can't reach 90°C, you need to address that or switch to single-use disposable options. A cloth washed at the wrong temperature can still harbour bacteria."

Mistake 7: Using material cloths when paper would be safer

"If you're currently using material cloths in situations where contamination risk is high, consider switching to single-use disposable paper rolls. Yes, material cloths seem more economical, but if they're not being used correctly—one task only, proper storage, 90°C laundering—then single-use paper is the safer option. The cost of paper rolls is nothing compared to the cost of a contamination incident."

Step 6: Key takeaways

Finish your video by reinforcing the critical points.

"Let me recap the cloth use rules you need to remember:

Why it matters: Cloths are one of the biggest sources of cross-contamination in the kitchen—both bacteria and allergens. Every time you wipe a surface, the cloth picks up whatever was there and transfers it to the next surface you touch.

Single-use is safest: Wherever there's a contamination risk, use single-use blue centre-feed paper rolls. One use, then dispose. This is the safest option for preventing cross-contamination.

One cloth, one task: If using reusable cloths, each cloth is for one task only. Once used, it goes straight to dirty cloth storage—never back with clean cloths, never left on surfaces.

Colour-coding is critical: Follow our colour-coding system without exception. Green for front of house, blue for kitchen, red for toilets. Red cloths never enter food areas. If you see the wrong colour in an area, remove it immediately.

Oven cloths stay put: Oven cloths and chefs' cloths are for handling hot items only. Don't carry them around, don't wipe surfaces with them, don't use them as hand towels. Collect when needed, return immediately after use.

90°C laundering: Reusable cloths must be washed at 90°C to properly disinfect them. Lower temperatures don't kill bacteria effectively.

Stock levels matter: Check paper roll and clean cloth supplies during opening and closing checks. Running out forces people to improvise, and improvisation means contamination.

Corrective action: If a dirty cloth has been used incorrectly, re-clean and disinfect any surfaces, utensils, or equipment it may have touched before putting them back into use.

Cloth use seems simple, but getting it wrong can spread contamination faster than almost anything else in the kitchen. Follow these rules every time, with every cloth, and you'll prevent a major source of cross-contamination in your operation."