While I was browsing through the salt on NPR yesterday, I came across an article about a new California law requiring food handlers to wear gloves. The new law is an effort to further increase food safety in restaurants.
For big restaurant chains, the new law came as no surprise. They were already prepared, but for smaller restaurants, where food assembly and presentation is still an art form, the new law is a nuisance. Sushi chefs, who require the full feeling of their fingers, are unhappy with trying to assemble their delicate little bite sized rolls in baggy gloves. {Although, the chef they interviewed said he would follow the letter of the law,even if he felt it affected his craft.}
When done right, gloves would protect patrons {and by done right, I mean they would need to change them each and every time they switched from handling food to handling something else}, but opponents of the new law say that the gloves will decrease how much people actually wash their hands.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a food service worker brush their glove up against their nose, touch a dirty cash register or open a refrigerator door with their gloves on. Will gloves just give people a false sense of security about the hygiene of their prepared food? I’m torn. What do you think? Gloves or no gloves?
~Mavis
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Monica says
I say no gloves. I worked for a chilli company making cheese coneys in high school and college. When I first started, we did not wear gloves and I can tell you I washed my hands constantly. After I touched anything other than the food. After a while, people started complaining so we had to wear gloves. The gloves are not changed as often as they should be, make it hard to handle the food, and do touch a lot of other things. The thing is people do not mind at all what you are doing as long as you are wearing the gloves so it is actually just a false sense of security.
Kayla says
I work in the food industry in California and the new law has some good things and bad. I like it because I burn my hands less (I cook) and my hands are better protected. Mostly though, I don’t like it. Before, I used my hands to feel and sense how the make the food. Now I have to guess and that affects the taste of my food. It has slowed down our production of food because we can’t grab things as quickly with gloves on too. Also, I have noticed that other workers might get food on their gloves and not notice, causing them to keep working and cross-contaminate. We have had to really rethink how to do things in the kitchen. Before, whenever we touched something “unclean,” we washed our hands. Now, we can’t feel it and may not know to change our gloves. We change our gloves every 30 minutes, but sometimes that is not enough.
I vote no on the gloves.
Jenifer says
Maybe I am not thinking this through thoroughly – but all I see is those gloves filling a landfill.
Being over 30, I feel if I survived food handlers not using gloves in my growing years, then everyone else will too.
Ashley says
I vote no gloves. I think they give the people wearing them a false sense of security when it comes to germs. If the wearer has a cut on their hand, then I’m all for gloves. I don’t want blood or a band aid in my food, yuck.
Mimi says
I used to go to a restaurant because the food was good and it seemed clean and had a good sanitation score. One night when I walked in a guy was cleaning the trash cans. When I came in he went behind the counter, put on a pair of gloves lying on a box and asked what he could get me. I told him he needed to wash his hands since he had been handling the trash. He rolled his eyes, took off the gloves, put them on the counter, washed his hands and put the same gloves on. I left….. Gloves or no gloves how about better training.
Ruth Ward says
Yes, I feel that having workers wear gloves is only giving patrons a false sense of security. It is great for the companies that are producing these gloves, as the wearer would have to change them everytime they go to a different kind of food. ie meat to vegetables, fish to rice, chicken to whatever. They touch the skillet handle, glove change would be required. They touch the cutting board, change your gloves. A lot of waste.
How did we survive all these centuries before latex or neoprene gloves were developed? What about those chef’s sleeves? Maybe we should just plastic wrap the chef! Sorry, germs are part of our environment. It is what has made us survive all these centuries. If we couldn’t survive them, we died off. Yet, we’re still here.
Mary Warbus says
I say no to gloves. I have worked in the food industry for years. I have found people tend to wash their hands less and less as they depend on gloves for protection. Not even noticing they contaminated the gloves by using dirty contaminated hands. When I was a Food and Beverage manager I made sure to explain to my staff how using gloves is as important as washing hands. However, in the end their complacency by gloves bothered me.
Tammy says
As far as I’m aware it isn’t the law here in Michigan. When I do see food handlers using gloves, and then taking cash, and then possibly going back to doing something with food, it makes me cringe.
Not related to food, but the gloves–I hate going to the dentist! Everyone puts on gloves, touches every single surface in the room, and then comes back to my mouth. Gross…I feel like I always get sick after going to the dentist.
erin s says
Ha! I just butchered dinner in my husbands wood shop. Germs are a part of life. My kids have to wash their hands all the time at school but are always sick. The hubs barely gets a shower in and is always healthy! He says the dirt under his nails keeps his immune system in order. I’d ditch the gloves….and the restaurants.
Ramona says
I agree with the other comments.I see workers touch food, cash register, food again all with the same gloves. I also notice servers bring you your food and then go to a table and pick up dirty dishes, silver wear and glasses with their fingers inside the dirty glasses. I HOPE they washed their hands before bring more food out to tables. A few more things, cleaning off tables most just get the tops wiped, what about the side edge, think of all the other people touching the condiments? So even if gloves were worn there are germs everywhere. Just wash your hands.
Rosaleen says
Yes to gloves being false security. Yes to more and better hand washing. Gross is demonstrated by chefs sneezing or blowing ther noses, then going right back to preparing cold food. Gross is watching a food vendor tossng chicken on the grill, handling the fruit to make a strawberry-lemonade, and handling money all without washing his hands. Yuk!
Eating at home sounds SO much safer!
Beth Rankin says
When it became required for healthcare workers in hospitals to wear gloves, the incidences of infections went up. Hand washing is necessary!!
Kendra Puzzo says
I work in food services where we have to wear glove at all times. It is important to change the gloves when going to another food item to physically handle.When that is done hand washing with soap and hot water is required. Then dry hand and put on gloves. When thinking to do something else, the glove come off. If you do things right the first time and follow the rules the health department requires, it is a win win situation. But there is always someone that doesn’t and can cause problems. It works! At home I do not use, but wash hands all the time as well as preparing the food in stages as not to contaminate it.
Jenna says
My daughter has a latex allergy. Which more and more people are developing. No rubber bands, latex matresses, balloons, gloves, dentists and doctors have to take precautions, even clothes with elastic bands. I can only imagine this will increase the problem for her and increase the number of people who develop this problem. I don’t like the idea of her eating food that has latex powder all over it from the powder in the gloves. I don’t like the idea for myself.
Maggie Mac says
As for being concerned about the powder dust/residue from gloves, there are POWDER FREE latex gloves available. For those concerned about latex allergy, there are many types of gloves available beside Latex. Gloves can be purchased that are made from Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Neoprene, styrene or synthetics.
I personally would rather have food handlers wear gloves when preparing ‘ready to eat’, foods such as lettuce for salads, tomatoes, celery, or any other foidcthat doesn’t get further preparation prior to being eaten.
I have seen waitresses tearing apart a head of lettuce and wipe their nose with their hand or scratch their face and then continue to handle the lettuce. This is gross!! Just think of the germs under their nails that gets transferred to the lettuce or tomatoes slices/quarters. No thanks, use gloves please!!
Anne F. says
I asked a public health nurse in Seattle about this several months ago because I was wondering about many of the issues you all have raised. Her answer surprised me.
The big public health concern is the transmission of food borne illness, especially hepatitis, spread through feces of the infected person. My RN friend told me that research shows that food workers tend to toss gloves before using the restroom. Putting on new gloves after using the toilet can stop diseases, even if the worker forgot to wash their hands. It can be difficult to get good compliance on employee hand-washing.
Yes, we ABSOLUTELY need to insist that people wash their hands before handling our food, but this law seems evidence-based and intended to keep people healthier.
On a side note, I’ve seen signs in a number of Seattle restaurant bathrooms lately, stating that failure to wash hands after using the bathroom is grounds for immediate dismissal.
mbavers says
That sign in the restroom about employees washing their hands is for YOU to see, not the employees!
Renee says
I have been in foodservice for many years and gloves are misused. I say YE to gloves when mixing things like salad, chicken salad and things like that. It really is easier to use you hands than a spoon for large quantities of items. But then there are the times when using gloves give a false sense of cleanliness. Believe me, I go through tons of gloves but I can not stand the food service workers who never change them. When an employee at a restaurant or behind the deli counter go to open the walk in cooler to get an item, open the box that came off of a truck, get out a prewrapped product and open it, the gloves are now carrying germs from every surface. Gross. then when I ask a worker to change their gloves, they roll their eyes. I would rather them get what they need and wash their hands.
Basically if the food service worker does not feel something on the skin of their hands, they think they are clean. They think gloves are their to protect their hands when they are there to protect our food.
So basically, better training, better observing from supervisors would be better than gloves.
Clare says
YES!!! Agreed!
KathyR. says
A couple years ago I was at the local grocery, needed dinner in a hurry and decided to pick up fried chicken at the deli counter. The workers all had gloves on but were touching meat locker handles, register, and so on. The was bad enough but I figured since they would be using tongs to pick up the chicken I shouldn’t worry. As the woman (old enough to know better) went to select my chicken she dropped the tongs ON THE FLOOR, picked them back up and went for the chicken. Since I can’t help being a PITA I said loudly “You’re not going to use those after you dropped them on the floor…ARE YOU?” She stopped, looked at me and considered…the pause was all I needed. I told her I didn’t want any chicken, went to the manager and reported her. Then went home and made PB & J sandwiches…
Clare says
No, it lulls people into a false sense of security and promotes poor washing habits. I HATE gloves in the food service industry. When something gets on your skin, you can FEEL it, and therefore wash it off. Not so much when it gets on your gloves. I see much better hygiene in places that don’t use gloves than those that do. In addition, I think good food must be made with care and love. Gloves place a barrier between the chef and the food and creates a detachment. I also don’t like the idea of gloves on my food; I much prefer washed hands. NO GLOVES!
Diana says
This is a terrible law! Handwashing only is best! This will increase cost and landfill waste.
I know many people allergic to latex gloves.
Lisa says
They were going to implement that in Oregon a few years ago, but changed their minds. The reasons were some of the same ones posted here. A false sense of security. More waste. Added costs to restaurants. That gloves alone will not solve the problem of norovirus (food poisoning).
Education of food workers is necessary, as well as employers making sure the guidelines are followed. When I got my Food Handler’s Card (something they don’t have in all states) I had to learn so much about food safety and hand washing.
Mrs. Mac says
The gloves are gross .. just wash hands often.
Margery says
Were I work we have to wear gloves to serve food, make food, put away clean dishes, roll silverware etc. Once you walk into the kitchen gloves and a hair net go on. The only thing not done with gloves is dirty dishes.
Eddie says
Yes I do know that any body that works with food needs and should wear gloves at all times. I wear gloves even when I’m
working food at home.
Barbara says
Stupid is as stupid does. You’re only as safe as the training that is understood by the person wearing the gloves. As an R.N., I learned to work “clean hand, dirty hand”. One hand is kept clean which the other one is the only one to touch something “dirty”. In a cleaning area on a hospital floor, you have to learn that skill well. There are dirty and contaminated things to handle sometimes, but you have to have one hand that is always clean at the same time. I do that in my kitchen. I can handle raw chicken, coating it in cornstarch then in raw egg, drop it into a hot skillet, and never get my other hand contaminated. With my clean hand, I am then free to touch things like the faucet without fear of cross-contamination, or get a clean bowl from the cabinet. It’s a little known skill, but a very useful one. If a food worker doesn’t understand that they cannot touch non-clean items, especially any part of their own bodies, the new law won’t do any good. I am a hand-washing freak in the kitchen, where I wash many times during meal prep.
nayeli says
I say NO gloves. Gloves won’t prevent any illness from eating out but they will contribute to a significant amount of waste that is not biodegradable. There are also many people allergic to those latex gloves that workers and customers alike will be subject to. I don’t see any real benefits. If employees aren’t keeping good hygiene without the gloves they probably also won’t be changing gloves between taking cash and handling food.
As a personal preference I think wearing gloves feels gross. Your hands can get sweaty inside etc.