Is It Worth It To Wear Disposable Gloves?

There's a lot of talk out there as to whether it is worth wearing disposable gloves and that could be debatable. However, if you are working in the food industry, it is a good idea to use disposable gloves for a few reasons.

Disposable gloves are a good item to have in the commercial kitchen, hospitality industry, and in hospitals. The reason is that it is a means to minimise the transfer of germs. If a particular staff member has come into your industrial kitchen and has some sort of skin condition then the gloves will certainly curb any skin contact with people, food and with catering equipment. Any bodily secretions that are emitted from the skin like sweat will be contained inside the gloves. Hence, the disposable gloves prevent germ transmission from the person using it.

Plus, it is also a good way to minimise skin to skin to contact. The staff member will not make skin contact directly with another person so germs will not be able to be carried from the one person's skin onto the next person's skin. The disposable gloves will act as a barrier between the two people. In the same way the staff member will not directly touch any foods or catering equipment that they are working with.

It must be kept in mind that although the disposable gloves are being worn, it is still good practice to wash hands regularly as you move onto another kitchen task and prior to applying a new pair of disposable gloves. For example, if you were working with fruit, you will need to replace the disposable gloves when you are going to work with vegetables, because you may carry over some dirt granules from the fruit that you washed onto the vegetables. It is integral that each staff member that works in a commercial kitchen is aware of what they touch at all times. 

In many cases, it is imperative to remove the gloves and use new ones if you are going to do different tasks in the commercial kitchen. For example, if you are preparing a meal that involves meat you will use one set of gloves, then when you are going to prepare the dessert you will have to use a new set of gloves. The risk of cross contamination from meat to other foods is too high and risky, so removing the first set of gloves and then using a new set is an essential practice.

It is also important to note how to remove the disposable gloves. Many people will remove the gloves by pulling the finger section one by one. This is not a good way to do so because you will have the outside of the glove, which has been in contact with many contaminants exposed, then you may end up touching the outside of the glove directly with your hands. Instead, roll the glove off from the wrist section so that the glove rolls off inside out. This way the contaminants will be on the inside of the gloves when you dispose of it.

So stay safe, clean everything, and protect yourself by wearing disposable gloves. 

CaterWeb stocks a full range of commercial kitchen products and we even offer free demonstrations as well as hands on training if necessary. Visit our website to access our online store or alternatively we welcome you to visit our new showroom. Please call us on 011-334-4227 or e-mail your inquiry to sales@caterweb.co.za so we may assist with your catering equipment requirements!