Hand Washing & Glove Use for Food Workers - Questions and AnswersA copy of the Hand Washing & Glove Use for Workers brochure is available in English, Spanish and Chinese in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF, 416KB, 8pgs.). Show
What is the main reason for washing hands and not touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands? The main reason for not touching ready-to-eat foods with bare hands is to prevent viruses and bacteria which are present in your body from contaminating the food. Viruses and bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, but may be present on your hands if you do not wash them thoroughly, particularly after using the bathroom. The law prohibits bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods and requires good hand washing by food service workers. When am I required to wash my hands?
What is good hand washing? All employees involved with food preparation must wash their hands and exposed portions of their arms with soap and water. Thorough hand washing is done by vigorously rubbing together the surfaces of lathered hands and arms for at least 20 seconds followed by a thorough rinse with clean water. Use a single-service towel or hot air dryer to dry hands. No special soaps are needed. Am I required to wear disposable sanitary gloves? State law does not require gloves to be worn, but does require that ready-to-eat food be prepared and served without bare hand contact. Wearing disposable sanitary gloves is one of several acceptable ways to comply with this law. How can I prepare or serve ready-to-eat food to avoid contact with my bare hands? You may use any of the following to prepare or serve foods without bare hand contact:
What kinds of foods may not be touched with bare hands?
What can I do with a ready-to-eat food item if it was touched with bare hands? You can either heat the food thoroughly to the temperature required for cooking or reheating, or discard the food, if it was touched with bare hands. Must I change my gloves after touching money with gloves on? No. Food outbreak investigations have not identified the handling of money as a cause of illness. But it is a good idea to change your gloves and wash your hands between touching money and preparing food. Many patrons complain to the local health department if they see food workers using the same gloves to prepare food and handle money. Is a short order cook required to wear gloves? The short order cook may not touch ready-to-eat foods with bare hands. Disposable gloves are one possible way to prevent bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods. Another way is to use forks, tongs or spatulas. When do I have to replace or change gloves? Always change gloves if the gloves get ripped, torn, or contaminated. Contamination can occur after using the bathroom, smoking, coughing, sneezing, and in between preparing raw and cooked foods. Food worker hands must be washed thoroughly and be cleaned before wearing new gloves. Where can I learn more about hand washing and glove use? Your local health department can answer your questions or give you more information about hand washing and glove use and about the importance of glove use in preventing illnesses.  Wearing gloves can keep food safeOver fifteen years ago, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods concluded that bare hand contact with food contributes greatly to the transmission of foodborne illness. Employees can very easily shed viral pathogens if they are infected, and they can shed these pathogens even before they realize they are sick. Most of these pathogens have a low infective dose, meaning that people don’t have to ingest many of them before they start to get sick. The FDA decided that handwashing alone is not sufficient to prevent transmitting these pathogens. That’s why using gloves is so important! It provides another barrier between potentially dangerous pathogens and the food the worker is preparing. This is especially important when preparing foods that will not go through a cooking step before it reaches the customer. Gloves aren’t magicalGloves certainly are useful, but they are not magical. Many people have the mindset that if they have gloves on, the food they prepare will always be safe. However, gloves can become contaminated just as easily as a worker’s hands. If food workers don’t wash their hands before putting on gloves or don’t put gloves on properly, the gloves could be contaminated with dangerous pathogens. Workers must wash their hands before putting on a new pair of gloves, whenever they put on a new pair. Also, simply having gloves on does not mean the food being prepared will be protected from pathogens. How often should food handlers change gloves?Since gloves can become contaminated very easily, they must be changed often. They may only be used for one task and must be discarded if damaged or if the worker is interrupted during their task. If a worker is performing the same task, the gloves must be changed every four hours because that’s long enough for pathogens to multiply to dangerous levels. Anytime the gloves become contaminated, they must be changed. This includes if a worker simply touches a part of their exposed skin, or if they perform a task such as taking out the garbage. Don’t forget that they must wash their hands before putting on the new pair of gloves. Gloves are a wonderful tool that can be used to protect customers from foodborne illness when used correctly. Gloves, just like bare hands, can be easily contaminated. Workers should remember to change their gloves often and wash their hands before putting on a new pair. Proper glove usage is a very important way to protect your customers from becoming sick from the food you serve. Use the above infographic and our Keep Food Safe Poster to visually remind food workers about important basic food safety principles and proper glove use. And food workers can use our Food Handler Training course to learn all the important food safety principles they need to know. Share our infographic with others!
—Kylie Molen This post was originally published in March 2016 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. Are gloves necessary in food service?Single-use gloves can help keep food safe by creating a barrier between hands and food. They should be used when handling ready- to-eat food. The exceptions include when washing produce, or when handling ready-to-eat ingredients for a dish that will be cooked to the correct internal temperature.
When did gloves become mandatory in food service?A California law (Section 113961 of the California Retail Food Code) that went into effect on January 1, 2014 prevents restaurant workers in the state from handling ready-to-eat food.
Do you have to wear gloves in a restaurant kitchen?First, with regard to law, the food code at the federal level advises, in part, “food employees may not contact exposed, ready-to-eat food with their bare hands and shall use suitable utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs, single-use gloves, or dispensing equipment.” The key in most municipalities is that some ...
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Do you need to wear gloves in food service?
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