A food preparation worker washes his hands and puts on gloves. She needs to make chicken salad. She first seasoned the poultry pieces, rubbed them with salt, pepper and herbs, then spread them out in a pan and steamed them. Wearing the same pair of gloves, she diced celery and onion. She makes dressings. Finally, she chopped up the cooked chicken, mixed the salad and packaged it, ready to sell.

A newly-washed assembly line chef with gloves on his hands received an order for a hamburger. He took the raw meatloaf from the refrigerator and patted it on the grill. After the burger was cooked, he picked up a bun and plated the burger with lettuce, tomatoes and fries—all of which did not add new ones.

In my career as a chef and consultant in the food industry for more than 35 years, I have seen many terrible things. And those common scenes are among them.

I go in and out of the kitchens of hotels and independent restaurants, in and out of catering vendors and canteens. Nowadays, food handlers should wear gloves, especially when working in public view. However, these gloves are only good if the hands they cover are clean. In my opinion, gloves are problematic. People equate them with food safety. (Participate in the attached opinion survey.)

According to a study published in the Journal of Food Protection in 2007, “Handwashing and wearing gloves are also related to each other-hand washing is unlikely to occur in gloved activities.” A study published in the same journal in 2010 concluded Conclusion: “The use of gloves will create a false sense of security and lead to more high-risk behaviors. If employees are not adequately trained, it will lead to cross-infection.” The report also reads: “During long-term use of gloves in food operations Occlusion of the skin creates the necessary warm and humid conditions for microbial proliferation, and may increase the transfer of pathogens to food through leaked or exposed skin or during the removal of gloves." In other words, wearing gloves alone is dangerous.

With the use of food safety gloves of various materials, we have also produced a series of new problems: the huge waste of resources that produce and process billions of pairs every year. This money can be spent on kitchen improvements, such as providing automatic or pedal-operated hand basins, and giving workers enough time to wash their hands a reasonable number of times a day. People may be allergic to gloves, especially those made of latex, and certain types of gloves use potentially carcinogenic and toxic materials.

Although there are some good arguments for wearing gloves in certain situations, such as when mixing a batch of meatballs and when workers have wounds on their hands, we should re-evaluate the automatic and ubiquitous usage.

"People put on those damn gloves and they think they are protected," said Denise Korniewicz, dean of the University of North Dakota School of Nursing and an expert on glove efficacy. "The best way to prevent the spread of bacteria, viruses or other bugs is to wash your hands thoroughly and follow the rules that we know are effective. When assessing food safety, I am not looking at gloves; it is the things workers do with their hands, such as using mobile phones or wiping. nose."

A study completed in the UK and published in 2010 concluded that gloved hands contribute even more to food than bare hands. In the same year, a study by a fast food restaurant in the United States found that the tortilla samples processed by gloved workers contained more than twice as many coliforms as bare hands.

"We may need to place cameras in the sink area of ​​the bathroom to ensure workers wash their hands," Korniewicz said. "Many times, they did not provide convenient and clean hand basins with a lot of soap and paper towels. If enough time and suitable cleaning materials are provided, we can all have more confidence in the safety of prepared foods and reduce the need for gloves. rely."

In 2006 and 2007, the Centers for Disease Control randomly selected 321 restaurants across the country to monitor the health status of workers. Survey results: In the recommended hand-washing activities, workers only correctly washed their hands in 27% of the activities, about 9 times per hour, and "the rate of attempted and appropriate hand washing with gloves is significantly lower than when they were worn without gloves."

The history of using gloves in the kitchen is earlier than you think. In Rome about 2500 years ago, “the wealthier classes kept slave bakers; according to the “A History of Food” by Magulonne Toussaint-Samat. It is said that very great people let these slaves wear gloves to knead the dough and wear masks to protect the dough from the sweat and breath of ordinary people. The first time rubber gloves were used in 1883. Eleven years later, they were Incorporated into the standard surgical procedures of Johns Hopkins Hospital. An Australian company called Ansell created the first disposable latex medical gloves in 1964 by improving their technology for manufacturing condoms.

Barry Michaels, an international scientific consultant for food safety in Palatka, Florida, said: “Gloves are the last line of defense against food contamination, separating food workers from ready-to-eat foods. They often work on stressful foods when they are sick. We know that usually Less than 50% of food workers wash their hands after going to the toilet. This is a question of trust. In a fast food restaurant, I’m not likely to believe that workers will work cleanly because they usually receive limited training. A bathroom In the restaurant run by chefs with clean garbage areas and professional waiters, even if they don’t wear gloves, I’m a little confident.”

Despite the flaws and the possibility of failure, many chefs still choose to wear gloves.

“We often use gloves in the kitchen,” said Ruth Lefkowitz, the owner of Ruthy's Real Meals in Sonoma, California. “My assistant uses them when handling raw meat and packing the food we bring. I like to wear gloves at events. That way. It’s easier to keep your hands clean."

Jared Johnson, the executive chef of the Heathland Hospitality Group in Philadelphia, told me, “Compared with 10 years ago, ordinary people are more aware of cross-contamination and food-borne diseases. If my staff wear gloves during service, customers will be assured that we You can focus on the food and service. However, I don’t like to wear gloves when cutting vegetables, because glove fragments may remain in the food."

Wearing gloves is designed to protect consumers from dangerous diseases that are mainly spread through ready-to-eat food. The culprits include the hepatitis A virus and the highly contagious norovirus, which account for about 50% of all food-related disease outbreaks and are spread through foods such as leafy vegetables, fresh fruits and shellfish. Bacteria that cause serious food-borne diseases include Escherichia coli, which is present in cattle and infected humans; Salmonella typhi, which only lives on humans; Shigella, which is mainly spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or water; Listerines Special bacteria exist in unpasteurized dairy products and ready-to-eat foods such as deli meats and soft cheeses.

Gloves have become part of the industry. Because sushi chefs are cutting and serving uncooked fish and seafood meat, it is important that they take special precautions. Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka, owner of Zama Sushi in Philadelphia, said: “The use of gloves is a major revolution in the sushi industry because it goes against tradition. It takes months to work with gloves, but I have already worked with them. 12 years. It’s easier to train people because the special Japanese sushi gloves I use-embossed five-finger squeeze gloves-have a textured surface and can actually handle sushi rice and raw fish easier.

"Many of my clients have allergies, especially shellfish," he added. "We can handle shrimp, and if the customer tells us that they are allergic, we can change the gloves. Also, because the taste and marinade do not transfer, the taste is more pure."

Regulations on the use of gloves within and outside the United States vary widely. The FDA recommends washing your hands and wearing gloves before preparing food. In New York State, preparing ready-to-eat food must wear gloves or use tongs, forks and spoons, deli paper, wax paper, napkins or spatula, and prepare and serve without direct contact. The Arkansas Department of Health has a different view: “The use of gloves has not been proven to reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases. Gloves can become as dirty as bare hands, but they are not replaced as frequently as hands.”

Please note that hand sanitizer should be used after washing your hands, not as a substitute for hand sanitizer, and your hands must be allowed to air dry after use and before handling food.

Before the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, there were only a few glove types to choose from. Today, there are more than 200 kinds. But finding an acceptable material is challenging. Latex gloves have good dexterity, fit and good tactile sensitivity, and can withstand high temperatures. But due to sometimes severe allergic reactions to latex (a product mainly from rubber trees in Malaysia), Oregon, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have banned the use of latex gloves in food services. Nitrile gloves are durable and provide good dexterity at a moderate cost, but usually contain bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or DEHP, which can make the gloves more flexible when added. DEHP is a potential carcinogen and reproductive toxin banned from use in food service gloves in Japan and the European Union.

What else to worry about.

Thin, one-size-fits-all polyethylene gloves are the cheapest, but they tend to tear easily and cannot be used in high-temperature environments. Vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gloves can fit snugly, but because they may start to leak once they are worn, they are described in Food Safety magazine as an "infection control nightmare."

However, regulations and practices must be feasible. I recently had to attend the ServeSafe course created by the National Hotel Association. Food managers working in Philadelphia must take and pass certification exams. My classmates include a young woman who runs a specialty biscuit business, a manager of an advanced service facility in a church, the owner of a drive-in cinema that provides food, and the owner of a nearby pizzeria.

I found this information to be too detailed, very impractical, and lack simple basic principles based on common sense. In a case study in the course book, a food worker should wash his hands 12 times between breakfast and lunch service. This does not happen in any kitchen I have seen.

In order to improve food safety under real-life conditions, the CDC recommends modifying food preparation methods to reduce the number of hand washing required, such as reducing the number of times workers handle raw meat when making sandwiches.

During a recent trip in Puglia, Italy, I visited two fresh mozzarella cheese producers whose stainless steel and ceramic tile facilities are certified by internationally recognized food safety agreements.

Earlier I went to a buffalo mozzarella cheese maker in Campania. Although workers in these three locations observe food safety and maintain impeccable cleaning conditions, none of the cheese manufacturers wear gloves.

Barry Michaels, a food safety consultant, said: "Unlike Europe where workers in Europe are proud of their lifelong careers, our culture emphasizes waste." "The highly competitive American food service industry is often a race to the bottom. .. Hired workers-usually children-earn the minimum wage and wear millions of pairs of gloves each year to prepare even non-real food. In other words, the gloves are meant to protect us from ourselves."

In the end, nothing can guarantee the safety of our food, although thorough and regular hand washing and wise use of gloves will certainly reduce the risk.

Australian food safety experts say it well: "A clean hand is better than a dirty glove."

Advantages and disadvantages of gloves

The latest book by Philadelphia chef Greene is "The Butcher's Apprentice: An Expert Guide to Choosing, Preparing, and Cooking the Meat World" (Quarry, 2012). Join her in today's free-range chat: live.washingtonpost.com.

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