Originally, we manufactured the Thermapen in gray only. Later we added all the food-safety color-coding versions. Many people in the food industry use color coding to prevent cross contamination by dedicating tools to specific food products. That way, a knife, cutting board or thermometer that is used for say, raw poultry, won’t end up contaminating fresh vegetables like salad greens.

That was the reason we did multiple colors for the Thermapen. Of course most people buy a color variety simply according to personal preference. Even in commercial applications it seems most people buy colors so they can quickly tell who belongs to which Thermapen (blue is Fred’s, yellow is Cathy’s, etc…)

In 2006 we added black and orange which aren’t even on the color coding system. If you have a color preference that we don’t make yet, email Randy and we’ll keep track of your vote.

Standard Color Code:
Red = raw meat, raw beef and pork.
Blue = raw seafood
Yellow = raw poultry
Brown = cooked meats
Green = produce
White = dairy or bakery items