Disposable Gloves (PPE) in the Food Service Industry

Disposable gloves are one of the most common pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) worn in the food service industry. These single-use gloves allow for hygienic food preparation, protecting both the customer and worker from the spread of germs and infection . Bastion has an extensive range of gloves designed specifically for the food service sector, available here.

Why are gloves used in the food industry?

Protecting food from contamination
Protecting workers from injury and contamination
For comfort

Avoiding food-borne illness is a key reason to adopt disposable gloves in your practice. Illnesses like Norovirus can cause serious sickness from contaminated foods like leafy greens, fresh fruits and shellfish. In New Zealand, it is estimated that over 50,000 cases of Norovirus occur annually. Good hygiene and handwashing is an incredibly important way to mitigate those chances, and correctly using disposable gloves in food preparation can eliminate a lot of risk.

Food handling and hygiene is a well-regulated and strongly enforced part of the law. For best practice and legal expectations around food handling, please refer to here.
Wearing disposable gloves in food service roles not only has hygienic advantages, but also psychological ones that instil better practices in the workspace.

“Interestingly, gloves may also provide a psychological benefit when worn in a food handling environment. Research suggests that wearing gloves can serve as a reminder for workers to take care in high risk food handling operations and might prevent them from touching their faces and engaging in other behaviours that could contaminate their hands.”
– HACCP International (Gloves in the Food Industry)

Minimising contact with ready-to-eat-food

While bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods is not illegal in New Zealand, it is strongly discouraged. Wherever possible, it is important to take steps to reduce bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food.

Here are some simple and pragmatic measures the food handler can take to prevent any unnecessary contact with ready-to-eat foods:

Make sure to use clean tongs or other implements to handle food
Using disposable gloves, provided the gloves are changed if they become contaminated
Making use of other barriers, such as paper

“The use of hands in direct contact with ready-to-eat food may be necessary in some circumstances, particularly if the task would be difficult to perform using gloves, for example, making cake decorations or other intricate foods. If direct hand contact is necessary, hands must be thoroughly washed and dried before the food is handled to mitigate any risk.”
- Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices And General Requirements

Bastion disposable gloves are an affordable and practical way to play your part in stopping the spread of infectious diseases through ready-to-eat-food.

Your disposable food service glove options

Vinyl Gloves:

The most affordable disposable glove option, vinyl gloves are designed to be changed frequently, and thus require a lot of disposal. Our vinyl gloves allow for moderate protection in lower risk environments, but do not offer significant dexterity or tactile precision.

Nitrile Gloves:

Nitrile disposable gloves are latex-free and puncture resistant. They are extremely tactile-sensitive and mould to fit the wearer. These food safe gloves are firm-fitting, extremely comfortable and appropriate for extended wear.

Polyethylene(PE) Gloves:

Polyethylene(PE) disposable gloves are our low-risk, low-cost option at Bastion. For short burst jobs, like whipping up a sandwich or cutting a slice of something, only really usable for a couple of minutes. Polyethylene gloves are ambidextrous gloves that do the job when the job is “low-risk” or the food handling is “light-handling”.

Things to consider when choosing gloves for the food service industry

It’s important to consider your colour options when shopping for disposable gloves for food service. Bright-colours avoid the possibility of gloves ‘getting lost’ in any food served. Blue is a popular colour for this reason as it contrasts with most food. A neutral-coloured clear glove is more likely to hide amongst a meal. Bastion offers blue vinyl gloves, as well as blue nitrile gloves.

It is important to remember that gloves do not and cannot replace hand washing. Handwashing compliance is non-negotiable for any food service worker, as gloves can be contaminated when put on by dirty hands. Proper training in both acceptable handwashing and glove use is advised to maintain best hygiene in the food industry.

If you have any questions about the food service gloves available from Bastion – please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are happy to help you select the right product for your needs in the food service industry.

Date Added: Wednesday, 26th October 2022

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