Much has changed since that scene was written. Ignatius’ tale took place in the days long before Hurricane Katrina. But the landscape of New Orleans’ hot dog cart vendors has changed not only in the upheaval of the streets they once served but also in service supplies frequently found on board their carts and those around the country: Thin, clear plastic gloves worn while assembling classic hot dogs.
In the 1990s, these gloves began to appear in some fast food restaurants, where employees assembled prepared foods. As outbreaks of Hepatitis A and other food borne illnesses were traced back to employee hand hygiene, the public had a growing expectation of visible signs that would indicate the food service industry was doing all it could to curb these dangers.
The irony of these popular gloves’ appearance is that they can give consumers a misguided sense of security if improperly used. Their effectiveness as a barrier against disease is only as effective as the underlying hand hygiene practices of food workers. The saying “What you don’t know, can’t hurt you” doesn’t quite ring true in this case.
What constitutes proper food glove practices? Nothing can replace the first line of defense against communicating infection which is a good hand scrubbing before putting on the gloves. Cross contamination must be avoided once the gloves are on. This means not switching from working with raw foods to cooked foods while wearing the same pair of gloves or switching tasks from a dirty surface to a clean one. If gloves come in contact with hair, skin or clothing, they must be changed. If a pair of gloves have been worn for four continuous hours on one task at any given work station, they should be changed to discourage bacterial growth.
The FDA has spelled out guidelines in its Food Code for state and local governments to implement regarding the use of gloves by retailers of prepared food. Since laws vary from state to state, there is still no absolute uniformity with glove regulations. But conscientious business owners are fully aware of the consumer’s health awareness. More and more customers are informed as to what food safety practices they should be watching for. Properly used food service gloves are smart business.
Jen is an experienced senior glove industry consultant and is the editor-in-chief of a growing online resource library that is aimed at educating and supporting anyone wearing disposable gloves. Jen suggests readers visit this collection of how-to and support: Vinyl Food Gloves.
