 Last year, when Oregon Health Authority officials announced they would adopt the 2009 FDA Retail Food Code, restaurateurs suddenly faced a piece of legislation that would prohibit foodservice workers to touch prepared food with their bare hands. The gloves came off. The no-bare-hands rule was originally supposed to go into effect on July 1, but Oregon public health officials delayed the decision because of public debate that these new safety rules were not actually safe. The rule would have prohibited food handlers from contacting “exposed, ready-to-eat food” with their bare hands. Instead, any contact would have to be made with “suitable utensils,” including deli tissue, spatulas, tongs and single-use gloves. Wednesday, regulators of Oregon's Foodborne Illness Prevention Program announced that “…at this time, the ‘No Bare Hand Contact’ section of new food safety rules will not be adopted.” “While the regulation is being put into place to prevent norovirus contamination, the bottom line is that gloves alone will not prevent the problem without being used in combination with hand washing,” says Mindy Brashears, a professor of food safety at Texas Tech University. Norovirus is what laymen more commonly refer to as food poisoning. “We would not want an employee to simply put on a pair of gloves after using the restroom; we also need them to wash their hands. Covering up contaminated hands is not the answer, removing the contamination is important,” she says. Oregon-based chefs like Adam Sappington and John Gorham agree. Sappington, the executive chef at The Country Cat Dinner House & Bar in Portland, regards the now-void ban as “crazy.” “I got a little philosophical about the whole idea. It takes away one of the senses of cooking,” he says. “It’s more likely that you’re going to wash your hands less, and moving from hot to cold, hot to cold in gloves, things are just going to fester.” Gorham, the chef of Toro Bravo, Tasty n Sons and Interurban in Portland, says while there is a time and a place for gloves, requiring them at all times is downright dangerous. “As much as people are fighting against the gloves, I spend a lot of money on gloves,” says Gorham, who says his staff does wear gloves when butchering and cleaning fish and shellfish. “Most of the gloves are made out of a rubber product and they break down with animal fat,” he says, noting plastic's potential to leach chemicals into meat. “I’ll do what I think is best, but I’m not going to obey a law that will actually harm you,” he says. Members of Oregon’s Foodborne Illness Prevention Program are hopeful that industry intuition, like Gorham's, will help avoid fisticuffs in the future. In addition to dismissing the bare-hand rule, the program’s website stated it will, in the next few months, allow restaurateurs, chefs, government inspectors and interested consumers to form a workgroup and have a hand in future food safety decisions. |
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I worked in 5 star restaurant ,and we had to wear litlle plastic gloves.IMPORTANT PROCEDURE;1.WASH HANDS,,2 .DRY HANDS(because if you dont dry you cannot put on gloves,they stick to skin).3.EVERYTIME YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE,MOUTH,FACE,GO TO BATHROOM,HANDLE RAW CHICKEN FISH,TOUCH DIRTY THINGS,CLEANING CHEMICALS-CHANGE GLOVES,PUT NEW ONES..4.NUMBER 3 IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW WHEN YOU HAVE 100 GUEST WAITING FOR FOOD (we actualy catch a guy coming from toilet with gloves still on,u can imagine what he was holding there lol..my advice...NO GLOVES,BUT WORKERS SHOULD WASHG HANDS AND HAVE RUGS WITH BLECH WATER AVAILABLE FOR WIPING HANDS..
Yes I know it's a major hassle. I suppose the only real solution for me is to only frequent closed kitchen restaurants and trust the chef will keep it clean. No doubt I have countless times happily consumed fine dishes prepared by perfectly washed, clean bare hands and never got sick at all. If anything, I am convinced that whatever doesn't kill me will indeed make me stronger. You live life in a sterile bubble and you will never build up any immunities. My real point that I tried to make in my earlier soundoff was it just looks wreckless. So if I never see bare hands on the food I eat- I'm fine!
Steve
I am not a germophobe but really, the wife and I watch a lot of cooking shows and it's just disgusting to see high class chefs getting bare hands all willie nillie on the food and then serving it. I think it makes them feel more intimate with the art form they create. Just use tongs and wear gloves! The food will stand up just the same as an artful presentation and while sure, they can argue about the transmission of germs, gloves or not, I'll feel better about eating it!
There is absolutely no difference between a glove surface and the surface of your skin. I've seen employees wear gloves and do things outside of food service, but have never seen anyone ever wash their gloved hands before getting back to food service.
And quit being flippin germophobes. Do you realize 9/10 guys don't wash their hands after taking a leak? Did you know that about the guy you were holding hands with at the bar the other night? Or whatever you were doing? Trust me, I know. I'm a guy and have seen many men leave the restroom without even looking at the sink. That hasn't killed you yet. And if it has, be happy. No more taxes, job, or threat of ill health. LOL
After reading through the comments that are pro glove, I just can't help but wonder if these folks use disposable gloves in their homes when they prepare their own food. As a long time restaurant worker and manager, I can honestly say that my stomach turns when I see cooks and chefs wearing gloves. One cannot wash and sanitize gloved hands like one can with bare hands. The gloves can get nicks and dings that trap food particles until notices. Just imagine one tiny slit that gets contaminated. It is so small that that the worker does not realize it is there! When proper hand washing procedures are followed, a food worker will wash his/her hands after contact with different foods, raw versus cooked, clean versus dirty tools, etc.
Commons sense folks!
Sorry, but I prefer to see a person handling my food wearing gloves. Subway now makes it a habit for its employees to wear gloves on the food line, and that's the way it should be. Cheap, plastic gloves are a dime a dozen. I think some of you are confusing the cheap plastic harmless gloves for thick latex ones. No one needs to wear those thick gloves, but the really thin, dispensable ones are perfect. Keep them on, and when you go to the restroom, ring someone up, etc, take them off. Then, wash your hands and put on a new pair. Simple. The thought of someone touching my food with their bare hands turns me off, big time.
Those thin gloves are not that sanitary. I work in the restaurant business. There is no substitute for handwashing. Those little gloves can be exposed to chemicals or food debris which is then transferred to the product. There is also the unknown about chemicals which could leech from the actual glove into the food. We are already dealing with that issue with our bottled water industry. Plastic gloves do nothing more than to provide a false sense of security while increasing the risks of cross contamination.
I prefer my food handlers to all have OCD, and their hands to be dry out nubs by the end of the day from excessive washing. However, I also recognize that every time I try a new restaurant I have no idea what to expect. Frankly, you eat bugs why you sleep, there is x amount of feces in mass produced products, and people show up to work sick because they need the money. Best to try not to think about it too much.
I support this move largely because it probably made little to no difference anyways.
I was in a Subway a few weeks ago. I witnessed the sandwich maker make the sandwich of the person in line of front of me and then proceed to ring her up, take her cash, and give her change. All with the same gloves on, he then came over to make my sandwich. I had to ask him to change gloves before making my sandwich. It just makes you wonder how often things like this happed but her never see it.
I was in a McDs restroom many moons ago. A gloved McWorker came in, used the bathroom and exited back to work with the gloves on. Gag-o-rama.
I remember a new dishwasher that got upset with me about not wearing gloves. I explained that if you scratch yourself with gloves or without that you'll still be contaminating everything that you touch afterward. I then showed him how when you get something on your hands that you'll immediately know that it's there. With the gloves, he had no idea. I then showed him to the nearest sink and demonstrated the proper way to wash your hands (around the fingernails, too!). I never saw him wear gloves again but I saw him at that sink at least as often as I was.
Gloves are a health hazard as I've seen many others on this list say. You won't realize that you have raw chicken on your hand with gloves on. You'll know immediately with bare hands! You should consider yourself a hero when you're washing your hands 50+ times a shift b/c you're probably saving someone's life!
You are so right! I am frustrated at my new job because they use tongs and plastic gloves for all food prep. It is maddening to know that if the cooks used proper hand washing procedures that the food going out the door would be much healthier than with the gloves and tongs. A false sense of security is not the same as safe practices.
I stopped in a sandwich shop and happened to be sitting where I could see what was going on behind the counter. They guy who was preparing my sandwich stopped suddenly to sweep the floor in his area. He used a broom and a dustpan and then used his hand to shove the rest of the dirt, etc into the dustpan and then he emptied it into the trash and then went back to finishing my sandwich without washing his hands. He saw me get out of my seat and while approaching him, he immediately began to apologize. He told me "We get another sandwich from cooler"!!! The manage came over, wondering what the commotion was and apologized over and over, offering me other choices. I told the manager that I wasn't about to eat ANYTHING in this place.
Why would he just stop making your sandwich to sweep??
I have often wondered that myself. My only guess is that the manager was nearby and he had already been warned about keeping his area clean.
And actually that is what got my attention. I wasn't spying on him or anything but I thought it was strange that in the middle of making my sandwich, he suddenly picked up a broom.
Cross contamination easily occurs with either without specific enforced staff guidelines. However, much easier to keep your hands clean than the gloves. .
As someone who (starting at age 14) spent decades in the industry, front of house, back of house and management ($3.5 million annual revenue in mid-90's) I hate gloves for routine use. The most significant sanitation problems is the lack of sensation. When hands feel dirty, they are dirty and you can act on that feedback to wash them. The gloves prevent you from feeling the blood, grime and general debris that happens in kitchens. Since your hands don't feel dirty, you don't change your gloves until a break or something else requires the change. Without gloves, you would have washed 3 or 4 times more often. I know when I ran a broiler for a large chain, I would wash my hands 10-20 times a shift. With gloves, I might have changed a few times.
Plus, no decent cook or chef can prepare food without feeling it. Gloves prevent one of the major feedback sources.
I agree the gloves provide a FALSE sense of security. There is no substitue for proper hand washing and trained preparers. Touching your hair with gloves on does not help anyone.
Funny... I got the worst food poisoning of my life from Toro Bravo.
I've read where the average human scratches/rubs their nose/face an average 3 times per minute (not to mention the other things they are touching, and I'm not just talking body parts). If you are a germaphobe, stay at home. Otherwise, if you are a healthy person, you are bolstering your immunity.
To those of you pushing for glove usage have any of you tried to cook with them on? Have any of you tried to do that while wearing them for hours? Have any of you cooked with them and had them melt into your skin? If not then please go do that before you comment any further. I have done all of the above (and I have a few scars from the melting due to splatters). The other problem is latex allergies. If a restaurant wants to avoid the chance of activating a latex allergy they have to go with vinyl (poor fitting usually) or Nitrile (more expensive) glove options or risk someone having an allergy attack in their dining room. Get real people.
This is a real dilemma. It's been proven that surgeons, who scrub their hands with an antibacterial soap for several minutes and a brush often have staph bacteria growing under nails, etc.
It's always bothered me that chefs will handle uncooked food, arranging it on a plate with bare hands. They touch all sorts of things in the kitchen, then salad or something that is then brought for me to eat. They may wash their hands, but I know they don't scrub like surgeons do.
Since it appears that nobody actually read the article, I'll reiterate: gloves aren't the only solution. Quote, "suitable utensils, including deli tissue, spatulas, tongs and single-use gloves".
You reiteration is irrelevant. If the gloves/tongs/single use anything is dirty, the effect is the same- food poisioning. Go to a fast food restaurant that serves sandwiches and watch them operate the microwave, oven... everything, and then make you a sandwich wearing the same gloves. If the norovirus eminated from human hands, these items would be a good idea. It doesn't and they aren't. Proper foodhandling techniques and handwashing must be used.
Gloves create more issues than they solve in many cases. Not only is there a false sense of sanitation for the customer, but the employee may think the gloves are cleaner than they are when they switch to touching other surfaces. Unless they are well trained in food safety procedures, they may not know when to toss the gloves. They add to the cost of daily operations when used properly, and this may lead conservative employees to think they're doing the business a service by reusing as often as possible.
Gloves should not be worn in the hand that wields a knife, as the loss of grip to the knife can result in injuries. Also, the glove can be nicked and pieces can end up in the food, especially when "one size fits all" gloves are used. They can also be melted when exposed to heat, and can aid in cross contamination from meats to vegetables.
Latex allergies also come into play. Powdered gloves increase the risk for allergic customers.
Gloves sometimes take the place of proper sanitary food handling training in restaurants, figuring that the policy of wearing gloves absolves the restaurant of any liability for food contamination, which couldn't be further from the truth. I'd rather see someone with clean bare hands prepare my food, than someone wearing gloves.
Several tourists respond by dismissing all restaurants in Oregon
I always wear gloves when I am making "secret sauce" for you to eat.
When I worked in a restaurant I was constantly washing and cleaning. However, when some drunk scum, or someone trying to impress his girl gave me a hard time, I had no problem putting pubes on his burgers. Also, I would take crickets and put them on the gril before the hamburger went on. I never had a complaint.
Wow loyal northern democrat. I now have an aversion to all things democrat, northern and loyal.
tAt my Subway Sandwich shop You put on new gloves with each new sandwich You remove the gloves if you handel money then wash your hands and put on a new set of gloves I would not want anyone to reach into the cookie warmer and bare hand someone a cookie
the important thing is the gloves need to come off when touching something other than food. Even while making the same sandwich, if they open a refrigerator door after touching a deli meat, then the handle is contaminated. Then they touch food again, then they touch the handle... some fridge doors at delis are disgusting breeding grounds for bacteria and are vessels for cross-contamination.
I always taught employees to remove one glove at a time, so one hand would be free to open a door or grab a knife, then place another glove on before continuing to touch food.
Gloves don't guarantee cleanliness. Haven't you seen restaurant workers handle cash with gloved hands and then handle food?
That isn't a glove problem. It's the employee not following procedure.
Even in instances where employees are not removing gloves when touching money, sometimes they continue to touch other things, like dirty utensils and fridge door handles, and simply pass around the contamination to other surfaces. Drives me nuts... the gloves are to protect the customer's food from you, not the other way around.
People that use anti-bacteria gel have gotten warts which are a virus, because they killed the beneficial bacteria that kills the wart virus...
Washing with soap and water is all that is needed, gloves add a false sense of safety, I prefer bare hands to contaminated gloves any day.
Bottom line... both hand-washing AND single-use gloves should be required by law, and failure to do so punishable with high fines and jail time for both the worker AND the business owner.
Hey, you want to eat someone else's p00p at home, that's YOUR business. But when I'm out, I expect the greatest care to be taken where food prep is concerned... which is why I rarely go out for food. Simply put, it's just not worth it.
I find some of these comments interesting because many of them come from people who've never worked in food service. The gloves actually lead to some of the biggest issues food service workers face. Workers must wash their hands – and the gloves won't save that because the gloves stay on the hands – no matter what. Why? Because the owner will make them keep the gloves on unless someone is watching them – and that doesn't happen. It's far better to use instant hand solutions and anti-bacterial, anti-germicidal soap and water. Making sure hands don't have exposed open wounds is also a concern because of various diseases that can be spread. But a far bigger issue is the way the food is stored and managed. Fresh foods spoil very quickly and cleaning of surfaces regularly isn't always there. Also the floors and drains can back up creating huge problems that impact us directly. The reality is that food sanitation auditors can't do their jobs – in Dallas, Texas if a restaurant is inspected one or two times every couple of years you're very lucky. It's worse in other places because the Dallas area is still fairly wealthy so the politics can play out and money can get shifted around. Not so everywhere.
I agree with Kevin, as I have managed restaurants/cafes for over 13 years. The only time gloves should be mandatory are when you have an open wound on your hand. A restaurant with a visible sink so patrons can see employees regularly and constantly washing their hands has a better sanitary appearance to the customer than one who merely requires gloves at all times.
"The only time gloves should be mandatory are when you have an open wound on your hand."
Hi, I have a cut on my hand I'm never showing you Not because I'm a jerk, mind you, but I frankly just don't think it's very relevant to my ability to perform my job.
I agree with TJ. Both handwashing and gloves should be required. The thing is the gloves need to be changed regularly. Also, as many people are alergic to latex, they pretty much have to standardize with vinyl gloves. The problem is vinyl gloves do not fit as well as latex, and things just don't feel right while wearing them.
Um. Plastic bags are not banned in Oregon. They are banned only in Portland. Corvallis just passed a citywide ban, which will be implemented over the next six months to a year.
Anyway, hopefully this ruling will allow restaurant owners to determine their own rules for glove use, depending on the risks and benefits per individual situation.
The mashing-together action shown in the picture is not good food preparation, gloves or not.
Dork! That image is a STOCK image... just a depiction, nothing more. Look at the upper-right corner – that's the photo collection the image was purchased from.
Stock photo, not shot at any of the restaurants concerned, so far as I know.
Rather than mashing the spring mix, I think the employee is either plating the salad with their hands, or fluffing the pile to give it elevation and to keep it from falling off the plate.
I stand by what I said, regardless of where the image came from or what the person is really doing. Full-contact touching of food, as shown in the picture, is not good food preparation. What is wrong with you people? Are you really disagreeing with that? Do you think that bringing up irrelevancies contradicts me?
Hand washing needs to be nearly constant, gloves need to be changed frequently- all surfaces must be clean, which means clean & dry, & that includes the gloves. I am a classically-trained professional chef with 20 years experience, & that's the only way.
Oh, & by the way, the time to not wear gloves is when working the saute or grill stations where open flames & intense heat could result in a glove melting around someone's hand...
You are correct, and one needn't be a chef to understand the good sense about what you stated. Further, when sauteing food, or frying – the food is receiving a treatment that kills most if not all (bar one) bacteria. After the food is cooked however, gloves should be worn.
* There is one bacteria (along with certain prions), which I can't remember the name of, off the top of my head, that do not "die" until a temp of 273ºF is attained.
I love how food service workers think that they are pros because they took a safe food handelers course. I cooked for ten years and all I have to say is; washing hands in a kitchen should be a habit. when I was a cook I always wore gloves because I don't like to touch food or they can help your hands withstand higher heat. I've never seen a glove melt on someones hand. Quit tryin' to sound smart, shut your mouth and wash your hands.
Latex gloves may prevent a steam burn, but coming into direct contact with hot metal, such as a cast iron pan or oven rack, they will most certainly melt. I haven't seen it much myself (because most cooks handling hot materials tend to be paying close attention), but it has happened.
Seriously, just wash your hands before preparing food. That's all that is needed along with keeping sick people away from the food who are employees. For thousands of years humans have prepared food in much less sanitary conditions and we're still here as a species. Hell we might have been healthier for it since we may have had a resistance to some of the buggies that were on our food in the older days. Now that we're sanitizing everything we might become less resilient to those buggies.
Remind me never to visit Oregon!
If you do not have a choice an have to go there say for work – buy food that is already sealed in a bag from outside their state.
If they scratch their head or sneeze into the glove they do not help anyway, I have seen both of these by food workers. What they need is a class on food safe prep before working.
And it is getting old having a dirty wine glass served to me. Imagine the germs!!!!
"What they need is a class on food safe prep before working." I'm sure they're required to take one. It's required in my state. And in it they are told to use gloves, but the reasons are not explained as well as some of the comments in this article. Gloves can be contaminated as easily as hands, and the proper procedure is 1. Do something 2. Take off gloves 3. Wash hands 4. Put on new gloves. Omitting steps 2 and 4 makes no difference. If you hands are uncontaminated, it is safe.
Oregon requires food service handling cards, which require training to receive.
Good don't visit them, stay in your little sanitized home and never come out. Thanks the world appreciates it.
I'm strongly of the opinion that, we need greater scrutiny for those who USE gloves when preparing food. I've seen many instances of food handlers going from a till to putting on gloves and prepping food without washing. Disgusting!
When I worked in food service we did no use gloves... but we DID wash our hands frequently. Anytime contamination could occur we washed. It was part of the job.
I'd like to see more stringent regulations on the use of gloves in food service.
I have to say I agree with gloveless cooking/food handling. People forget why they are wearing gloves and start thinking it has something to do with protecting their hands instead of protecting the food. Plus, if you use the gloves properly – ie – CHANGING them all the time – that's a lot of trash you end up with. How hard is it to wash your hands? Wear a glove if you have a cut or open sore, but either change it or wash it just as you would wash your own hands. I feel the same way with day cares. When I was looking for a place for my son, I came upon a one that proudly told me they made sure they wore gloves when changing diapers. I asked if they made sure they changed gloves between diaper changes (of multiple children) or if they removed or washed their gloves before touching the children's clothing or skin. I got blank looks and I decided that wasn't the place for me.
Just remember you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can't pick your friends nose.
That depends entirely on the friend.
Remind me to never be friends with with you Chris!
You can pick your nose, you can pick your friend's nose, but you can't pick your friends and wipe them on the couch!
I have worked in a variety of restaurants doing everything from utility to pastry chef. I made sure my hands were clean at all times. If I was changing tasks, I washed. If I finished cleaning, I washed. I am nauseated when I see workers in nasty looking gloves touch meat, then vegetables, then utensils with those gloves all because they are required. I was yelled at by a "supervisor" while working a concession for my son's school because I didn't have on gloves. I had probably washed my hands four times in the last 10 minutes, while the dishwasher was shown up as an example. I tried to say that the guy was constantly trying to help by touching the food I was preparing. It took all my energy to get this guy to stop trying to help!! I was told it was OK because he was wearing gloves. Blech! Those gloves don't get changed. I watched on person wear the same gloves all shift. No matter how many times I said they should get new ones, they didn't see the big deal. This is why I eat at home.
Don't eat out, then you have no one to blame for food borne illnesses but yourself.
I'll risk it.
they should all wear gloves. who knows what is on their hands when they prepare your food. YUCK!
Did your Mom wear gloves in her Kitchen?
The problem generally isn't the workers having 'dirty' hands from going to the bathroom but cross contamination between food. Like going from handling raw chicken to mixing a salad handling a plate. A glove will *not* fix that problem in anyway. In fact, you need to change the gloves frequently in order for them to be effective in cutting down on contamination. Effective education, training, and supervision in hand washing is as, if not more, effective when it comes to preventing cross contamination.
Also, you are far more likely to get food poisoning from a meal prepared at home than at a restaurant in an area with an effective health department.
those hands touch the outsides of the gloves, when putting them on, I'm sorry, but gloves are NOT cleaner, only regular, and PROPER hand-washing is clean. Glove usage creates a moist humid environment for bacteria to proliferate. As a lifelong food-service professional, I can tell you, gloves do not protect you, hand-washing does.
Why are there not sinks in food areas where people can be monitored by a supervisor to wash their hands when they enter a food prep area. Why are people just warned to wash their hands in the bathrooms? I have gotten sick several times after eating in fast food places, and I have never seen a sink where customers or supervisors can observe employees washing their hands when entering a food prep area.
Every kitchen in which I have ever worked had a sink next to each entrance. If you left the kitchen, you washed when you re-entered. When you use the lavatory, you wash in the lavatory and again when you enter the kitchen.
I haven't seen any kitchen that didn't have at least three sinks.
Sadly, management (especially in the fast food industry) does not always enforce hand washing regimens. Personally, were I running a kitchen, the first time that I saw someone fail to wash when they entered the kitchen or between cooked/uncooked food handling, I would explain that they've used up their freebie and that they will wash each and every time (and for the proscribed duration) if they value their job.
Someone with gloves on can easily pick their nose or scratch their backside, take out the trash then prepare your sandwich, You have know Idea where those gloves have been, unless you personally see them take a new pair out of the package, put them on and then prepare your food. and even if you do, you don't know if the person that handled those ingredients prior to the person that prepared your food was wearing clean gloves. So does it really matter?
I don't trust anyone to wash their hands...all food workers should wear gloves.
Uh – and what sort of protection do you think the gloves offer? Magic? If employees can't be troubled to wash their hands in the first place, I guarantee they will not be practicing sanitary procedure anywhere else, and those gloves will simply be the vehicle for filth to spread itself throughout the kitchen.
I actually prefer that gloves are not used, unless there is a cut or something on the person's hands. If you're wearing gloves, they will contact many surfaces, picking up all kinds of junk, that you won't feel/notice BECAUSE of the gloves. I used to work at a place where we sometimes wore white gloves, and we were constantly changing them because of all the stuff we got on them. Coffee, sauce, soup, whatever, but I'm sure there were lots of unseen things that were present as well.
I've been a food service professional my entire career. Washing hands after every kitchen task is required in my commercial kitchen. There is no substitute for washing hands properly. We wear gloves, when working with raw meat, poultry and fish. When working with the public, my staff wears gloves 100% of the time.
Be real! what's next? Anyone who is preparing food for anyone except themselves (ie: family, friends, etc) bears the same responsibility for sanitation and proper food handling – that's just being responsible. Yeah, right – so I'm going to keep a supply of those (can't use latex because some people are latex-intolerant) gloves handy every time I touch any food just in case someone else might be eating it? Hmm... next the food markets will have to enforce an 'all shoppers will wear gloves upon entering' rule because they might touch something without purchasing it? Go Oregon!
I once had a health inspector, during our bi-monthly inspection, comment on how much my kitchen staff was washing their hands. Her comment, incredibly, was "Wow. Why are they washing their hands so much. Your water bills must be pretty high." Made me very proud of my staff, as they understood and lived safe food handling. Not so proud of the inspector. . . .
If you had reported that moron you would have failed the next inspection. Sad but true.
Wow, I've seen these gloves and was starting to see them used back in the 90's... Here's a thought- you didn't wash after using the toilet, you put on these gloves,your hands sweat, your gloves are filled with a toilet saline solution which you accidentally skewer with the kabobs you are carefully placing on the plate. Then inadvertently seasoning it with said toilet saline solution. Time to drop the gloves...
Where did all this paranoia come from? I am 65 and grew up in an era when no one wore gloves in food services. Yes, people got sick from contaminated food but, today with gloves, people still get sick from contaminated food. WHAT HAS CHANGED? Now we have those antibacterial dispensing bottles everywhere. This is nuts, are face masks next and then whole bosy suits? Get a grip people, germs exists and the more you protect yourself the more you set your body up for a real problem. I just came back from Europe and they are into the same germ paranoia there. The insanity is spreading.
Quote – "Now we have those antibacterial dispensing bottles everywhere"
I will not touch one of those filthy things.
And they don't even kill viruses – just bacteria! When you consider that the norovirus (mentioned in the article as a cause for food poisoning) and the cold and flu viruses are not affected by those gels, I wonder if we're doing m ore harm than good with them.
I'm 65 too, and I know that there wasn't so much feed lot beef ending up on our plates as now. Same with chickens and pigs. More were allowed to have space and walk around. With the present way, cattle are fed grain which makes them sick, then give lots of antibiotics, which the bacteria become immune to. They are crowded together so that waste from one is all over the others. Meat inspection is much more "sketchy" today that in years past. END RESULT: more bacteria on the meat (or in milk) than before and these bacteria are more virulent.
Kitchens are cleaned periodically during the business cycle with industial grade sanitizers that sting your skin and will actually peel your hands if you leave it on your skin. Now imagine a worker touching a freshly sanitized surface that is still wet enough to have puddles, thinking it's water from the lettuce, with gloved hands then mixing your salad with those same gloved hands. Very clean, but it could still send you to the hospital.
What planet do you live on? I have never seen or heard of the use of such caustic chemicals in kitchens. Maybe your kitchen should take a short break to read the labels and learn about this thing called "dilution".
Most food handlers do not get paid enough to care about your health. Sorry most of them hate their job, and you for coming into a place and ordering food to give them more work to do. The worst people are the ones that come in 10 minutes before closing, these people get the worst service. Most cooks work long days, or odd hours, so depending on the day of the week a cook can work upwards of 17 hours straight, with no breaks. If you go out and eat, remember that a cooks job is probably one of the most detested occupations on the planet.
If you can't trust them to wash their hands, then you shouldn't be eating there to begin with.
It takes about a minute after washing hands for them to dry enough to get gloves on, which is why so few food workers change them often enough. I've even seen salad guys get yelled at for washing between pulling off a torn glove and putting on a new one because it takes too much time.
Who wrote this legislation, Howard Hughes? Gloves can become contaminated just as easily as bare hands, so both gloves and hands have to be clean (ask a surgeon). so why bother with the gloves?
One word. Fleshlight.
I prefer a used toilet paper tube filled with hand cream.
nothing better than the old toilet paper tube
DISMISSED!
If the dealer runs out of gloves, I can't open my doors. If another restaurant buys them all, I can't open. If the retailers all triple the price, we have to pay it. This is just another of a million ongoing attempts to use law to mandate spending for artificial, unnecessary products.
Guess what: After you go to the bathroom, you 1. touch the spigot with dirty hands; 2. wash your hands; 3. touch the dirty spigot again to turn off the water. Then the door handle. Paralyzed with fear yet? But you have to go.
and if germs can't transfer from metal, then there is no need for 'touch-free' dryers, so which one is the artificial product? One of them, the sink or the dryer, is either contaminated (sink handle) or unnecessary (touch-free).
How 'bout swipe card pads: Why do they have magnetic pens? So we don't touch the screen. But we all touch the pen! Stupid. How 'bout grocery store clerks: When I go buy an apple, the clerk handles someone else's money then my apple. Would this rule have applied to grocery store clerks as well? Many other shoppers touched it: Do produce aisle shoppers have to wear gloves? How about servers who touch the plate? Bartenders?
Many states have such laws. Even more don't.
I'd like to track this rule back to the original proponent: I betcha someone with shares or a stake in the glove manufacturing and retail sectors are using law to create an unnecessary, artificial monopoly so they can raise prices and compel mandatory spending on their product.
Humans evolved over millions of years with food poisoning yes I've had it, very bad, but living in the bubble makes us weaker not stronger, those paralyzed by fear should stay home instead of forcing their squeamishness on everyone else. My workers are just trying to get through college so they can get real jobs someday. Regulate yourself, not everyone else thanks but no thanks! The Commission made the right decision: Legislate what people can't do, not what they must do, like buy products from people who use law to mandate sales for their unnecessary products.
Respectfully, Steve R.
I hope you at least wash your hands after you masterbate.
To the 61% who voted they don't care as long as hands are washed:
So if someone washed their hands, and then started rolling their hands around in your spaghetti, or salad, you wouldn't mind?
I've gotten sick from restaraunts enough to know gloves should be a requirement...
And I've worked in food service long enough to know that many workers move from task to task without ever changing their gloves. They're not exactly washing them in soap and water between those tasks either.
Sounds more like you either need to stop eating at the dumpster in the back of the restaurant, or get a better immune system.
1. You are weak.
2. Don't go to restaurants with cashiers.
You have no idea. Unwashed hands are the least of your concerns...
Mmmm, sweaty hands inside rubber gloves. I hope I get a few drops of nasty hand sweat in my food as it's being prepared.
/end sarcasm
Seriously, this idea was stupid from the get-go. So you have gloves and handling paper sitting there collecting all the germs that fall out of the air. One sick person that walks into your kitchen taints everyone's hands for days unless you throw out all handling equipment and buy more.
Anyone who is that concerned about food handlers should stay the hell home and cook their own food.
If you are so concerned, I'm sure some entrepeneur will market a body condom for you to wear to "protect" you from ALL those nasty, nasty pathenogens that man has somehow managed to live with for millenia.
C'mon folks... grow a set, will ya?
On the one hand, yes food handler should wear gloves. On the other: When I drive by my local hospital I sometimes see nurses, doctors on the street with their hairnet, green jumpsuits and protective overshoes. I wonder if they replace them when they get back inside. Same here. Who guarantees the guy doesnt pick his nose with the gloves. But in general, gloves are better than none.
Oh and thanks for mentioning that plastic bags are banned in Oregon. That makes me strike Oregon from the list of places to ever visit
no, they are not and you just said why...people put gloves on and think they are protected as they move from task to task and the gloves are much dirtier than people would allow their hands to be
The issue is not whether they should wear gloves, but whether they should wear clean gloves.
I was in this one place where all the food handlers wore gloves. Great... until I saw one of the food handlers use her hand to push garbage deeper in the garbage can and then, without changing the gloves, proceed to handle food.
I choose another place to eat. The problem was that the worker was following the letter of the rule - food handlers need to wear gloves. But she did not understand/care about the reason for wearing gloves - keep food better protected.
Gloves were never needed in my 70 years on earth, They don;t do a thing. You will be whatever you get on your bare hands on the bare gloves. As a matter of fact, I would rather have someone wash there hands, than wear gloves which they will NEVER wash. Bottom line, this is ridiculous. No one is dying from someone not wearing gloves in a restaurant, and gloves don;t stop the coughing into your food or spitting.
I live in Oregon and plastic bags are not banned except for a couple of small areas in Portland and southern Oregon. Whether it's in restaurants or from the grocery store, food in America is so stacked with preservatives, hormones and pesticides that I can't see where using gloves is going to help prevent contamination.
I am the Food Safety Director for a vegetable farming operation in the Salad Bowl of America. My company had a food safety audit this week. The auditor lowered our score because our hand washing facilities were NOT located outside of the bathroom so that a supervisor could OBSERVE the employee wash his/her hands after using the bathroom. In California all restaurants are required to post a sign in the bathroom instructing employees to wash their hands before returning to work. There is no requirement to supervise this event. Our employees operate tractors and install irrigation pipe They do not touch the produce. All of the major retailers and food service buyers (restaurant suppliers) require the audit scheme we just experienced. Hmmmmmmm
It a lot simpler to say everyone wash their hands instead of writing 10 pages describing job duties one by one. But a statement like a "facilities used exclusively by workers not involved in handling can be excluded"
I'm so sorry to hear that. The requirement is rather like insisting people wear their underwear on the outside so the skivvy police can see it.
Yes I agree: Buy gloves at whatever price, if you want to open your restaurant today: We tripled the price of gloves, but hey, if you want to open your doors, you'll pay it, wontchya! I could buy all the gloves in my state and put all my competition out of business haha-
So what ensures that the gloves are clean when they touch my food? I would imagine the outside of a glove has a similar probability of transferring germs to my food as someone's hand. Just think, that guy wearing those gloves probably had a nose itch after he already put the gloves on. At least his hands stayed clean inside the gloves. My vote is just keep washing your hands.
Having an anaphylactic reaction to latex I can say I won't be eating in any places in Oregon now. I wish lawmakers would be more thorough when creating these kinds of laws and consider the effects of latex gloves in food can do to sensitized people. There's awareness regarding peanut allergy finally, why not this killer?
Gloves are not the answer anyway, hand washing is. If employee's are too lazy or I hate to say, stupid to understand that then there are plenty of others to fill their jobs. Management needs to be on their toes.
That is what I thought of right away. They better make sure that no latex is used, or they need to have a sign on the front door and on the tables saying all food is touched with latex.
I even watch nurses in the hospital using single use gloves. They don't wash their hands first, then rummage around in the dispenser box, contaminating all the gloves inside. Pull out a glove and put it on using their other dirty hand. Repeat for second glove. By the time the last pair of gloves comes out of that box of 100, they have been touched many times. Then said person, wearing gloves will pick up her pen or cellphone or whatever and add further contamination. Someone said the gloves are just to protect the workers hands from direct contact with dirt, not to protect the customer. Very true.
I've never been a big fan of gloves... people that know how to use them properly also know how/when to wash their hands. In the end it's the restaurant owner's responsibility to police his/her people. Gloves are just one more cost driving up their expenses. The restaurant environment and the product provided generally dictate the cleanliness of the food and its handlers. Dirty restaurant = dirty food. Have a look around first and decide if you're really that worried about gloves and clean hands...
Prepare and bring your own food wherever you go just to assure your food is safe and not contaminated.I used to do that when I was 8...now I am already 46.....some of my comrades used to have fun with me but I don't care....because I care about my health....prevention is better that cure.
If you are so concerned, I'm sure some entrepeneur will market a body condom for you to wear to "protect" you from ALL those nasty, nasty pathenogens that man has somehow managed to live with for millenia. Better yet, a "body bubble."
Get a grip...
Heck ya Dave! It's all about bringing your own cheesewiz and crackers. Scr3w everyone and their ecoli.
Kitchens get hot. Especially in the summer. Sweat drips from your face into the food. It can't be helped.
Do I really want to know this.
No, you really don't want to know what happens to your food behind the door.
I worked in the restaurant business in multiple states. One that required gloves and one that did not require gloves. it comes down to the following: if the Management team and the restaurant is concerned about the safety of their customers, they will enforce food safety rules and practices. Gloves or no gloves. I have seen in multiple restaurants, employees mopping and cleaning then get an order and starting prepping food. Washing hands needs to happen after every possible contamination and between changing tasks. If you think that gloves are be all end all, you are sadly mistaken. For the guy who thinks he gets food poisoning every time he goes out to eat. maybe he needs to stop picking his nose, wash his hands, and use sanitizer. People infect themselves more than restaurants do.
Yeah, but I prefer my contaminación, no yours
The fact is, people are damned lazy. You will never get cleanliness in any restaurant. You will continue to eat food that people who have scratched crotches, heads armpits, picked noses and have gone to the bathroom with have touched with their bare hands.
EAT AT HOME, PEOPLE! It will save you lots of $ and spare you from having to eat other people's fecal matter – which in fact you do anytime you dine out -no matter where you dine.
I am happier with no gloves. I, as many others, have seen food workers clean floors, scratch their armpits, wipe the sweat off their faces all while wearing gloves. Not too much cleanliness there. The worst even was watching a server wearing gloves spoon some sauce/gravy as they lifted their hand this river of sweat poured out and into what was below. Is that what all you clean fanatics want, sweat in your food? Bare hands sweat far less or not at all than gloved hands and are easier to clean and keep clean.
I can remember as a kid working at a pizza place, and gloves were unheard of back then. We kept a box of baseball caps in the back just for surprise visits from the health department, but that was all they were concerned about back than was hair getting in the food. Isn't that funny. And no, I'm not that old! That was late 70's and early 80's.
It should be law,hands are always dirty people touch their noses ,scrach their private parts,dirty nails ,touch their mouth,they have warts,callouses, scrach their head touch the hair is many ways to use the hands of course it is dirty augh!disgusting I remember the first time I went to Taco Bell I saw tthe food providers making the food without gloves my stomach turn off and I left the place ,I hear they now use gloves ,it bothers me if people handling my food not use gloves indeed! they should use gloves period!
worked in the food industry for years. Do you think they don't touch themselves with the gloves on? i have caught people picking up dirty items they would never touch with their hands and still making food.
What I don't understand is that this is the law for public places, but in the home, who's going to put on gloves to prepare food? And what about allergies? Some people can't have any contact with vinyl, some can't touch latex.
I was grazing the samples at Costco and watched a sample server lick her rubber gloved finger and continue to make samples. Stopped me cold!
Wonder where they got the info about plastic bags being banned in Oregon? They've never been to a Safeway here...
There is such a ban in Oregon, but it's limited to Portland rather than the entire state.
Gloved workers act the glove is to protect them. I've seen too many workers take out the trash with their protective gloves on, go back into the restaurant and begin to serve/prepare food. I am sure the same holds true for going to the pot. I am sure they don't wash their hands.(after all, there are signs in the bathroom telling them to wash their hands since they have gloves on why bother) Pick their nose, cough, raw meat, money, and garbage all on the very fingertips of those food handler's glove.
I work with gloves on a regular basis. What most people do not understand is they they can get holes in them very easily. It does not take much of a hole and the sweat from your hands along with everything that is on them will leak out. If you are handling wet stuff, you may never know it. Better to wash your hands thoroughly.
I'm a chef in Oregon and It was abundantly clear from the get go, that wearing gloves all the time was unsanitary. For example, people would handle chicken, and then handle raw veg without changing the gloves. This means that in a normal shift you would have to change the gloves 50 times or more to stay sanitary. I think the point all along. It was all about consuming the gloves. Typical Problem/Reaction/Solution.
Problem: "Oh my god, people need to wear gloves or else there will be a norovirus epidemic. (Fear mongering by industry to create a market for gloves). Reaction: Public opinion is swayed by unfounded science and politicians grandstand in the name of "protecting the public. Solution: Large chemical company who manufactures rubber gloves (petroleum based industry) steps in with supply lines all ready in place to meet the public needs. Wake up people.
Change you gloves 50 times ,I will not eat in your restaurant! hands are dirty not matter if you are the king of England!hands go all over your body many people has illness like warts etc .is disgusting!
Another potential customer for the body condom/bubble...
Read the food code: The rule would have prohibited food handlers from contacting “exposed, ready-to-eat food” with their bare hands. Instead, any contact would have to be made with “suitable utensils,” including deli tissue, spatulas, tongs and single-use gloves
Ready to Eat foods. Not food prep. This is preventing food "ready-to-eat" from contamination.
Count me no eating at your estan rant if you handle my food without gloves.
I have gone round and round with the manager at my local Chipotle about how the workers there will put gloves on without washing the hands first. I have seen them handling the trash cans and trash bags, then putting on gloves and serving food without washing hands. I have seen them handling raw meat, helping the cook prepare the meat, and then put on gloves and serving food without washing the hands. I've seen this numerous times, and now when I come in he just goes over and washes his hands and serves me personally to avoid me creating a scene.
On the flip side, I have seen phlebotomists do the same dang thing. Put on gloves before drawing blood without washing their hands first. Who knows where their hands have been or if it's touched other people's blood.
Here's the thing folks: If you put on gloves without washing the hands, then the gloves are contaminated. Everything you touch with the gloves is also then contaminated as well. In fact, if you touched other gloves in the box trying to get out the clean pair of gloves... then those gloves are also contaminated.
Just wash the hands every time. I know it sucks, you're going to be washing them 300 times a day or more. But you've got to do it.
I worked in kitchens and people who do not wear cloves wash their hands more frequently (you feel everything that gets on your hands) but gloves prevent from feeling and gloves provide a false sense of protection
I don't care just don't overcook my cheeseburger.
Hey,I work at a resturant,and we NEVER use gloves.
The first job summer school job I ever had was in a Navy retirement home, and before you could work in the kitchen.
You were required to take a blood test why is this not a requirement anymore.
Ok folks, I have worked in the food industry for most of my life. Want to hear a secret? People wash their hands. People do not wash their gloves.
Exactly!
All the more reason to automate most kitchen functions. Hire a few skilled workers, pay them well, and have high expectations. Hiring an army of delta minuses (hint: Aldous Huxley reference) has never been a bright idea from a food safety perspective.
I'm more apt to scratch my butt with a glove on than without
I was going to say almost the same thing. Also, I'm just as worried about the food handler drooling or coughing onto my food. Surgical masks may be too much to ask for, but a face shield should be doable. Then agan, the shield need sto be clean, because putting on a dirty shield will contaminate the clean gloves. I'll just stay at home and eat the food I've prepared and contaminated myself! :-P
you are not too far from the truth. and gloves mean nothing. they will touch everything they touch with gloves on that they would touch with no gloves. so it will be worse, as they will think that as long as they have gloves on that they don't have to wash the dirty gloves.
It is very important for anybody who handles food to learn proper hand washing technique and for eating venues to provide deep sinks with elbow tabs or touchless faucets. Allowing an obviously ill (with a cold or otherwise) employee to work should result in a large fine. Employees who report to work sick should be sent home and told not to return until they are fully recovered. Many people simply don't know how to wash their hands effectively or don't hand washing seriously. From the Mayo Clinic website:
1. Wet your hands with running water.
2. Apply liquid, bar or powder soap.
3. Lather well.
4. Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
5. Rinse well.
6. Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel or air dryer.
7. If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet.
I'm afraid the average food handler doesn't scrub in before making a sandwich. Judging by how often I get food poisoning when eating out, hygiene is severely lacking.
don't believe this...business are shut down from food poisoning...sounds like you suffer from a dainty stomach
Yep. "How often I get food poisoning..."
Geeze. How often is that? Do you live in Tijuana? I have never gotten food poisoning, let alone "often".
And flush the urinal with your elbow and open the door with your hip.
Its straight up a question of hygiene and procedure. I don't mind w/o gloves if they wash properly properly. I also fear gloves if they are touching other objects like money, Door handles, Toliet seats, Other people.
Gloves do give a false sense of security, But also give protection to both sides. In otherwords, Both sides has benefits and cons.
in other words...
Clean gloves=good, Not clean gloves bad. Clean hand good, Not clean hands bad :P
@KingSolomon Just like your mom.
Also, while wearing gloves your hands get really sweaty inside. If they will not use gloves then they should have short fingernails, a lot of disgusting crud gets logged underneath.
I don't do rstrnts, they are filthy and over priced.
Some households kitchens are dirtier than most restaurants, granted the reverse can be true. However, you have to consider that many restaurants are very well geared to keeping a clean kitchen and dinning area.
The enormous amount of waste - all non-reusable, non-recyclable and non-biodegradable - that this would generate is unconscionable.
Unless regularly changed, they are no different than hands. I can take a leak or wipe with gloves on.
gloves don't solve the problem. Go to the dentist and watch them move the light like they did with the last ten patients with different gloves but the same handle then put them in your mouth.
Most handles have plastic on them as well, and are replaced.
Eww, I would confront the dentist on the spot. At my dentist they put fresh disposable plastic wrap around the lamp handles. I still tend to get stomatitis after dentist visit, so something is filthy.
A wrapped pig is still a pig!
What is inside the "wrap" is of no concern.
My dentist office is great in that respect. They wrap everything they are going to touch with plastic wrap including the lamp, keyboard and mouse. They change the plastic wrap before each patient.
As someone who worked in the food industry for quite some time, I can attest to the fact that there is a false sense of security when wearing gloves. We handled all different kinds of food, plates, trays, wrappers, opened food doors, oven doors, etc. all with our gloves. I've even seen people with gloves handling cash and then returning to their food prep (not at my place of work). Without gloves, you have a better idea that your hands are dirty, because you can feel more grime than with gloves.
I agree that gloves are a false sense of security for most people. Gloves aren't designed to protect the hands of the preparers, but the food for the customers. Most workers don't know that. Gloves should be changed like hand washings. Otherwise, just wash hands PROPERLY and I'm okay with it.
Sigh. I wish critical thinking was a common skill. The world would be so much better off.
wearing gloves could increase contamination! staff in between kitchen and toilet and also it takes the sensitivity away from your skin, so you could have some dangerous substance or liquid on your hands and not feel it!
Please explain how a food handling kitchen worker might have a dangerous substance or liquid on his/her hands that he/she would need to "feel" in order to know about it, to keep the food from being contaminated.
It does have a effect on how often someone washes their hands. I have seen people handle cooked food after touching raw chicken while wearing a glove. So it doesn't really take a lot to contaminate a food product.
No glove, No love!
Stop!
HAMMERTIME
I hope you die