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Myth busting about gloves and hand washing

What’s the issue?

It may be reassuring to see food handlers wearing gloves but this doesn’t always mean your food is being prepared hygienically. This fact sheet busts some of the common misconceptions about the use of gloves, and emphasises the need for hand washing.

Should food handlers always wear gloves?

No. Wearing gloves is not essential under New Zealand law, but hand washing is. The Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 specify hand washing as the primary method to reduce transfer of pathogens from hands to food (pathogens are bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms that can cause illness). Food handlers are required to thoroughly wash their hands, even if they choose to wear gloves.

Are gloves more hygienic than hand washing?

No. Improper glove use can be just as unhygienic as inadequate hand washing.

• pathogens on hands can get through gloves. Most gloves used for food preparation are permeable which means that pathogens from the wearer’s dirty hands can escape through the gloves on to food

• gloves can harbour pathogens. The surfaces of gloves are not smooth, and tiny wrinkles act as storage areas for contamination which can be transferred to food, food preparation surfaces and utensils if gloves are dirty

• gloves may give the wearer a false sense of good hygiene. For example, after preparing food, the handler may carry out the rubbish (which involves touching contaminated objects) and then return to food preparation – all the time wearing the same set of gloves

• gloves may cause the wearer to wash their hands less frequently it they can’t feel food scraps/juices on their hands

• food handlers continue to touch their face, hair clothes etc, thereby contaminating their gloves

• gloves provide a moist warm environment between the glove and hand for pathogens to multiply if the hands are not washed and gloves changed regularly.

Can most food be touched with bare hands?

Yes. Most foods can be manipulated or served with bare hands provided the food handler has washed and dried their hands first. At all times however, food handlers are required to avoid unnecessary contact with food to minimise the potential to transfer pathogens on to it, or spread material that could cross-contaminate other foods. Some food items, however, should never be served with bare hands.

What foods must not be served with bare hands, and what is a ‘barrier’ method?

Bare hands should not be used to serve foods that are ready-to-eat. Extra care is needed to ensure the food safety of these products because they are not cooked after purchase (cooking destroys most pathogens on food.) This means that if food becomes contaminated, for example, from contact with dirty gloves, the consumer will eat those pathogens and may become sick. A suitable ‘barrier’ method should be used to protect food from potential contamination from hands.

A barrier method for serving food can mean using clean gloves, or clean tongs, forks, scoops or similar utensils. A plastic bag pulled back over the hand and used to pick up food (so that only the inside of the bag contacts the food) is suitable, as are properly used disposable gloves. Hands must be washed before picking up the serving implement or using clean gloves however – no use having dirty hands touching sterile serving equipment!

Ready-to-eat food which must be served using a barrier method includes:

• cooked meat

• cooked or smoked fish

• cooked poultry

• cheese

• bakery products such as cooked pastries and savouries containing meat

• sandwiches, wraps and other similar ready-to-eat foods

• unwrapped sweets or sticky substances.

What about switching tasks or handling money?

Food handlers are required to keep their hands clean and to wash them thoroughly before commencing work with food. They must also wash their hands thoroughly after using the toilet and after any activity that takes them away from food handling – eg, handling money.

Food handlers serving unwrapped ready-to-eat foods (eg, from a delicatessen) who also handle money should serve food using a barrier method to make sure contamination from money-handling does not get on the food. Taking money while wearing gloves will contaminate the gloves. These gloves should not be used to handle food again.

Whenever possible, one person should handle food while someone else handles the money transactions.

So what is hygienic glove use?

Using gloves hygienically combines good hand washing with regular glove changes. If gloves are to be worn they should be put on only after hands are thoroughly cleaned.

Effective hand washing follows the 20-20 rule:

• hands are lathered with soap and warm water, and a nail brush is used to loosen microscopic dirt under the fingernails

• hands are then washed for 20 seconds under warm running water. Warm water temperature encourages a longer wash, and soap helps to dissolve any grease on the hands so that pathogens underneath can be washed away

• hands are dried for 20 seconds on a clean dry towel, or single-use paper towel, longer (at least 45 seconds) if using an air dryer. Dry hands provide a less favourable environment for pathogens to multiply.

Hands should be washed, and gloves changed between:

• handling raw foods, and before handling ready-to-eat foods (where there is no safety step of cooking to kill pathogens)

• handling any dirty item, touching a dirty surface or money, before handling food again.

What about hand sanitisers?

Used with a good hand-washing regime, hand sanitisers are a good way to minimise the transfer of pathogens from hands to food. They are not effective cleansers if used alone when hands are quite dirty or covered with oil or fat, since sanitisers cannot penetrate through grease to kill pathogens.

Who should I contact if I’m not happy with the food hygiene?

If you have concerns about the hygiene of a food outlet or activities by their staff, then call your local council and ask for the Environmental Health Officer. The numbers of your local council is listed in your telephone book at the start of the ‘blue’ section.

For more information on food safety regulation, click this link, or look on the NZFSA website under Industry/ FSANZ, labelling and composition/ Regulation of Food in New Zealand.