When I go to restaurants, I always look at what the employees are doing, especially if I can see the kitchen. For some places (fast food) it is easy, for others (sit down restaurants), it is a bit more difficult or impossible. I always wonder why restaurants don’t want their customers to see the food being prepared. Some may say it is because of trade secrets, others may say it is because they don’t want the employees to get nervous about people watching them. Personally, I think it may have more to do with possible health violations, but then, that may just be my expertise in food safety making me a bit paranoid on the subject.

I will admit that I go to fast food locations more than I should, being a chef and able to cook just about anything I want; however, sometimes I just want something quick and easy. I have begun to notice that a lot more of the fast food locations have started having their employees wear gloves when preparing the foods for service. In the case of food safety requirements, some locations require that the establishment either require gloves for handling foods that will not undergo any further cooking, or to have a strict handwashing schedule to ensure that the hands are continually cleaned. Seeing an employee that is wearing gloves, touch their face, hair, or dirty apron and then go immediately back to working with food, is not appropriate behavior weather the employees is wearing gloves or not.

For example, when I managed Burger King in Las Vegas, Nevada, we had a very specific requirement for handwashing, which allowed our employees to use bare hand contact with the food. We were required to have our employees wash their hands ever 30 minutes, and this was strictly adhered to at all locations. A timer would go off every 30 minutes as a reminder to wash your hands.

Those without strict handwashing procedures like ours were given the option to wear gloves when preparing food. If you have been to a Subway shop, you may have noticed, as I have, that the employees will wash their hands and then put on gloves to make sandwiches. Again, either way is allowable (check your location on the actual health codes regarding glove usage); however, you must use the gloves properly, otherwise it could be just as bad as not washing your hands. For today’s lesson, I will discuss the proper ways you use gloves to ensure that you are practicing proper food safety.

The main thing to remember when using gloves for food safety, is that they are NOT foolproof, and gloves are not a substitute for washing hands. As a customer, you should not automatically assume that because a person is wearing gloves while making your food, that they are using them correctly. In other words, don’t let gloves lead you into a false sense of security just because you see them being used.

When using gloves in food service, keep the following items in mind:

1. Gloves should be disposable: the gloves should be single use, never washed and reused

2. Have gloves for different tasks: Long gloves for mixing items such as coleslaw, short gloves for other tasks. You can even get color coded gloves such as red for meats, green for vegetables, etc.

3. Provide different glove sizes: you don’t want gloves that are too small or too large for your employees. Too large and they won’t stay on the hands, too small and they can rip & tear more easily.

4. Consider latex alternative gloves: in case an employee has a sensitivity to latex.

5. Focus on safety, durability, and cleanliness: gloves for food service should be labeled with the NSF international mark .

Food handlers should change their gloves whenever:

1. They become soiled or torn.

2. Before beginning a different task

3. At least every four hours during continual use, and more often when necessary.

4. After handling raw meat and before handling ready to eat foods.

When changing or getting a new pair of gloves, it is important to remember that your hands MUST be washed properly before putting on a new pair of gloves.

If you have any questions about anything that I present in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Tomorrows lesson: Proper personal hygiene practices for food safety.