Does Wearing Gloves Really Mean You Are Sanitary?

What really cracks me up is every company has this glove policy, so people put them on and think they are sanitary as long as they are wearing them. Hello? What happens the first moment they put them on? They touch something on their person..... clothes, hair, face and then go about their business. Whenever I was the boss, I insisted on all employees washing hands as often as possible with the hottest water possible and rinse thoroughly before you put on gloves, then if you contaminate the gloves wash your hand with them on, the same way. Unless, what you contaminated them with is not washable. Whether or not you handle food, everything you touch has germs on it everywhere in a restaurant and home or public places. Think about this, when you go to the bathroom what do you do first? Go the bathroom right? Then after you go what do you touch? The faucet right? Then after you wash what do you touch? The faucet again to turn it off. So you just contaminated your hands again, then you got paper towels then you opened the door, then you sat at a table if you were a customer, then you touched every thing at that table, etc. If you were a server or a cook you contaminated everything you touched, it is an endless cycle of germs and this is why people get sick. Fortunately, the body has dealt with most of the germs and built a resistance for most, this is why younger children and older adults would be affected the most, their immune systems are weakened or they have not built up the resistance needed to fight those germs. This applies to food born illnesses, also. For the record, I wash my hands before I go to the bathroom and after, then I use the paper towel to turn off the faucet, then if needed I use the paper towel to open the door. I never handle any doors with my hands, I always find a way to not touch it. I don't use silverware at restaurants, I use plastic ware. I ask for plastic cups. I don't get any fruits in my drinks, always on the side if I want them, not only at restaurants but bars too. I will make another post soon detailing my OCD if that is what you want to call it. I call it being careful. The fact is, it works for me, I don't get sick often, unless I let my guard down at a restaurant and trust them to not serve me spoiled food.

reply to post by ascension211

Originally posted by ascension211

Think about this, when you go to the bathroom what do you do first? Go the bathroom right?

Not if I was wearing gloves. If I was wearing gloves, the first thing I would do would be taking the gloves off.

Originally posted by ascension211

Then after you go what do you touch? The faucet right? Then after you wash what do you touch? The faucet again to turn it off.

Nowadays, many places have these fancy high-tech hands-free devices.

Hands-Free Toilet flusher.
Hands-Free Soap Dispenser.
Hands-Free Faucet.
Hands-Free Blower to dry off with.

I just started noticing them recently(about +/-20 years ago). Some places, you can even get through the entire situation with your hands never actually touching anything at all. Use your foot or maybe your elbow to open the door, and voila, didn't touch a dam thing.

I've never understood this concept of gloves making things sanitary. I've also never understood when they wear a hair net and facial hair net but then wear short sleeved shirts. I guess arm hair is good for you, but not facial hair or head hair. Wanna make yourself vomit in your mouth a little bit? Think of all the spit, snot, hair and other tasty treats you have ingested from eating out at restaurants over your lifetime. Kinda gross, huh?

The gloves only work if you know how to use them. From putting on the gloves to what you touch with them determines the effectiveness of contaminate free cooking. A major part of training for surgical assistants is the correct way to use gloves. Dont do what they do at subway and wear gloves to ring out people and then make a sandwich.

Gloves only work when used properly. When a person preparing food touches anything other than the food they are preparing they must change gloves. This includes door handles, drawers, or anything that is not cleaned using a sanitizing solution or high temp ware-washer. I agree it is inconvenient, but if used correctly they do reduce the spread of food borne pathogens.

They are most effective when used to prevent cross-contamination when handling raw foods and prepared foods by the same worker, but hand washing is necessary.

Gloves work for some areas like medical doctors. But I don`t thing gloves are necessary in restaurants, you will never see people using gloves in the best restaurants.

I find it funny that someone is thinking about the snot spit and hair in their dead meat.

lol

To All, there is much over concern about germs...way too much.

In a hospital gloves should be used to protect the nurse, not the patient. They are needed when there is a potential for contamination with bodily fluids with the exception of patients who are in isolation for a drug resistant strain of bacteria.

The only time 'sterile' gloves are needed is in surgery or tending an infected wound, etc. The vast majority of gloves are not sterile nor should they be.

There was a study done a few years ago when I was working that showed more infections in ICU's where nurses wore gloves all the time vs nurses who washed their hands between patients. Wearing gloves gives a false sense of protection.

When washing hands there is no need to use antibacterial soap. In most hospitals antibacterial soap is only used in Surgery. The most effective measure that kills germs is the friction that occurs when rubbing the hands together, then thorough drying as moist hands promote the growth of bacteria.

Our skin is an effective barrier against infection unless you have a cut or abrasion. When you try to kill all the germs with the overuse of antibacterial soaps you are not only killing the bad ones but also the good ones that are necessary and protective..

Originally posted by Blogbuster
Gloves only work when used properly. When a person preparing food touches anything other than the food they are preparing they must change gloves. This includes door handles, drawers, or anything that is not cleaned using a sanitizing solution or high temp ware-washer. I agree it is inconvenient, but if used correctly they do reduce the spread of food borne pathogens.

They are most effective when used to prevent cross-contamination when handling raw foods and prepared foods by the same worker, but hand washing is necessary.

You are exactly right. The point of wearing gloves is to maintain a reasonable level of sanitation. What the OP describes is known as Misophobia (the fear of dirt ,germs and contamination in general).

I manage a small kitchen. There is a hand sanitizer dispenser and I encourage the staff to use it regularly. Anyone handling food directly is required to wear gloves and a hair cover. We use bouffant caps like the one pictured here.. I also allow a clean ball cap as long as hair does not extend past the edge of the cap. Men with visible facial hair must wear a chin cover.

Gloves are disposed of after food preparation and fresh ones put on before starting another preparation. Gloves that become contaminated by touching the floor, trash can or used dishes or utensils are to be disposed of. It is never acceptable to wash your gloves. Counters and prep tables are washed with bleach water between preparations and the floor is cleaned with a Pine-Sol solution as needed. A kitchen environment should be sanitary, not necessarily surgically sterile.

reply to post by N3k9Ni


Bleach and pine sol should never be used in any kitchen, period. If you want to kill germs the hottest water possible on any surface will do this. sanitizers are not germ killers, that is a misconception.

Unless, what you contaminated them with is not washable.

I do not like gloves period, I think they give a false sense of sanitary conditions to customers and employees alike.

I used to work in a pizza place where they stretched the dough by flapping back and forth across the arms, guess how many hairy arms do that daily? Disgusting, but they were wearing hair covers and gloves. I never ate any pizza unless I made it or one of the ladies without hair made it.

Originally posted by winofiend
I find it funny that someone is thinking about the snot spit and hair in their dead meat.

lol

Carnivore all the way baby..nom nom nom. It what made us the dominate species on this planet. That and our awesomely awesome brain. The human brain doesn't get the attention or praise it deserves. Remarkable piece of bio-mechanical machinery our brains are.

Originally posted by ascension211
reply to post by N3k9Ni

 

Bleach and pine sol should never be used in any kitchen, period. If you want to kill germs the hottest water possible on any surface will do this. sanitizers are not germ killers, that is a misconception.

You obviously don't know what you're talking about. Bleach water is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and the National Food Service Management Institute as a sanitizer and disinfectant. Unless you intend to immerse your hand in boiling water, hot water insufficient. Pine oil is also a disinfectant and it smells nice, too.

What really drives me crazy, and this happens in so many places, is when servers handle both food and cash with gloves! Yuck! If a place is busy enough, two persons should handle each separately, if it's not, the one server should change their gloves.

OP, you do sound a bit OCD to me. But it's good as long as you're not obsessing or inconveniencing yourself too much all the time, because some germs are so nasty they are well worth the extra precautions. Norovirus anyone?

reply to post by chericher


Perhaps you should peruse this thread.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks.

reply to post by N3k9Ni


I don't agree with CDC on many things. Just because they say it doesn't make it so. The fact is, many people have severe allergies to cleaning chemicals, and if food is being prepared in the area, do you really want that crap in the food. I see employees using filthy used rags with the same sanitizer on it, what a joke. How about when you are sitting at a table eating and they start to spray that crap on the table next to you, you think it does not disperse into the air and land in your food or into your mouth/nose/eyes? You saying, I don't know what I am talking about is your opinion. Thank you.

Cracks me up...the deli workers wear gloves...but touch the counters, display cases....their noses...the scales....pencils....the digital counter for the next customer....the computer screen.

But the gloves keep my meat and cheese nice and un-germed

I'm not overly concerned about "normal germs". I try to keep my immune system strong. A tasty morsel falls on my kitchen floor...I don't throw it out

But, I do avoid anti-bacterial products as much as possible.
And Dove, Ivory and other commercial soaps....

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


My OCD does not allow me to observe the 3 second rule. It is amazing though how many people pretend to be sanitary and don't have a clue.

I worked for a large grocery store as a loss prevention investigator - catching shop lifters usually but I also watched the employees for stealing.
A co-worker was assigned watching a deli guy they suspected was stealing his lunch everyday. He'd swipe a whole chicken. Well, my co-worker said the grossest thing he'd ever seen was watching this guy wear one pair of gloves the whole shift. He'd change the garbage bags, handle meat, wash counters,etc all without changing gloves. It just added to the reasons to fired him.

reply to post by obnoxiouschick


Where was his supervisor?

reply to post by ascension211


Probably right next to him.
They didn't pay attention to anything.
About the only thing that can get someone instantly fired was stealing.
Those places if someone does that stuff with the gloves, usually just a written warning.
Most were in unions.
We could say things to employees but we were supposed to report to the main manager. See we worked at 12 stores so we didn't really know anyone but the managers. We were spies so regular employees hated us.