Or, maybe it doesn’t? Indeed, American Novelist Nathanial Hawthorne once stated that “a pure hand needs no glove to cover it.” Now, he wasn’t talking specifically about food safety, but I think he was able to put his finger on a significant food industry challenge. Indeed, we encourage food industry employees to where gloves when handling ingredients and food — because their bare hands may not be so “pure.” And, we’ve now discovered, is so seems, that the gloves food industry employees are being asked to wear may not be so clean either.

In an article recently published in the Journal for Food Protection, the authors tried to get their hands around the significance and prevalence of contamination on gloves being made available to food workers. The article, titled Potential for Glove Risk Amplification via Direct Physical, Chemical, and Microbiological Contamination, pointed out the potential “physical, chemical, and microbiological contamination from disposable gloves when utilized in food environments.” Indeed, the study underlying the article actually found contaminants like Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus on unused gloves.

By the time I finished the article, which explains in great detail how disposable gloves are typically manufactured, the risks associated with the production of disposable gloves, and the transfer of contaminants from dirty gloves to food products and even the workers handling them, I was clapping.

I also realized that I had never really scratched my chin thinking about the potential of introducing dirty gloves into the food production environment — and, the potential impact on food safety. Indeed, are bulk disposable gloves purchased from a big box store any safer (or, less dirty) than gloves purchased from a broker in medical grade gloves? Well, based upon the article, it appears that any two gloves, just like any two hands, may not be the same.

So, seeing the results of this study, should food safety professional be “shaking,” or experiencing a “wave” or relief now having had an opportunity to discover and learn about a new, previously overlooked, food safety risk? Indeed, armed hand and fist with this important knowledge, food safety professionals may ultimately find themselves (and their employees) better positioned to nail the manufacturing of a much safer finished product.

So, raise your hand if you found the article helpful. I know I will be. And, if you happen to see any of the authors at your next food safety conference, be sure to follow up with a “high five.”

If the glove fits...

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