Restaurants and other food service establishments have a large number of workers who need to use disposable gloves to handle food. Because food processors come into contact a wide variety of foods, and bacteria such as listeria and salmonella may be carried on their hands during the process, which can caused foodborne diseases when consumed. Disposable gloves could provide a protective barrier between staff hands and these bacteria, to reduce the rate of transmissions. In addition, Food Exposure Regulation released by FDA states that food processors must wear disposable gloves for the protection of food processors and consumers.

    However, there are many kinds of disposable gloves and they each have their own features. So which disposable gloves should we choose in food processing?

1. Disposable PVC glove

    The raw material of disposable PVC glove is polyvinyl chloride. Characterized by good resistance to oil and water, good durability and low cost, disposable PVC gloves are easy to put on and take off, which is important for the food industry where staff need to change gloves frequently.

2. Nitrile glove

    In the food industry, nitrile glove provide excellent hand sensitivity and better puncture resistance, while being more durable, making it less frequent for staff to change gloves and less costly for employers to use them. Besides, nitrile gloves are available in a variety of colors and can be quickly removed when they are broken and dropped in food to prevent accidental ingestion.

3. Disposable PE glove

    Disposable PE gloves are mainly produced from food-grade polyethylene material, and the biggest advantage is that they are very cheap. These gloves have also other features such as high transparency, flexibility of operation, anti-adhesive, dust-proof, non-toxic and tasteless. In daily life, PE gloves are commonly used to wash fruits, brush dish, eat cooked food, etc. However, because the plastic is not flexible, durability and suitability is relatively poor.

    Furthermore, the following three points should be paid attention to during food processing:

1. The food process industry involves a variety of different kitchen equipment and facilities, so different types of gloves are needed for different positions. However, no matter what types of gloves are used, they must conform to food-grade sterilization.

2. Latex glove

The main component of latex gloves is latex, which contains vegetable proteins. To avoid allergic reactions from customers due to proteins entering the food, latex gloves should be avoided in the food industry.

3. Colored gloves that are distinguished from the color of food should be used in food industry to prevent the gloves from breaking into the food and not being detected in time.