Auditing Glove Use

Most food workers know the basics of glove use, but the real question is “What do they actually do?”  We recommend that managers/supervisors take time to audit glove use practices in their operation.  This is a way to check that staff are doing what they are supposed to be doing to keep the food safe by using gloves correctly.

FoodHandler® has a glove audit form on their website that you could use for making these observations.  This form could be used on a quarterly basis to document the good behaviors (catch people doing things right!) and to identify corrective actions needed.

Audit Managerial Practices

The first step is to make sure employees have the tools they need. Start by checking whether or not you are providing the gloves that workers need.  Ask yourself:

  1. Are there appropriate sizes of gloves available for your staff?
  2. Is there more than one type of glove available (nitrile, vinyl, etc.)?  Some employees may have sensitivities to one type of glove, but not to another.  Also, there are more and more states banning the use of latex gloves in foodservice because of latex allergies.
  3. Are gloves located in the work stations where needed?  Make it easy for food workers to follow the standard operating procedures for glove use.
  4. Is there a glove dispensing system that protects gloves from contamination?  These systems are convenient and cost effective, and they reduce opportunities for gloves to become contaminated.  Check out our FoodHandler OneSafe® dispensers if you haven’t already.

Audit Employee Glove Use Practices

Now you can observe food workers in their daily activities to determine actual glove-use practices. Pick a typical day of operations. If you plan to compare audits over time, then choose a consistent day with the same menu. There are a few other suggestions for use of the audit on the form. General observation points include:

  1. Are employees always wearing gloves when handling ready-to-eat foods?
  2. Are they changing gloves between tasks?
  3. Are new gloves being used when returning to work stations?
  4. Are gloves always worn over bandages on hands?
  5. Are gloves changed at least once every four hours if  one continuous task is being performed?
  6. Are workers washing hands properly before putting on gloves?
  7. Are gloves removed from the dispenser one at a time?
  8. Are gloves handled only by the cuff?
  9. Are gloves removed from hands and boxes properly to minimize contamination?

New employees need to be trained on expectations for glove use.  Managers can make observations of glove use on a continual basis and make adjustments as needed.  Some staff may need reminders of proper use or a manager may discover certain types or sizes of gloves are used more frequently. Managers can use this information as a performance indicator (see our blog in May with some tools about KPIs or key performance indicators). Management by walking around lets you as the person in charge know what is really happening in your operations.  Risk Nothing!

Thawing Food with Food Safety in Mind

There comes a time in almost every foodservice operation where you must thaw food. Yes, I know there are those operations who have moved to fresh products only and don’t have a freezer in-house, but I am willing to bet that is more the exception than the norm. I am almost sure that anyone reading this blog who works in a foodservice operation can regurgitate what methods are acceptable to thaw food per the FDA Model Food Code. In case you don’t recall, I will discuss them briefly, but I wanted to spend some time covering these requirements a bit more in-depth – so you not only know WHAT to do, but the WHY we do it that way.

Addressing Major Food Recalls in Your Business

It seems like every year we have a large-scale food recall that reminds consumers and foodservice operators about the importance of food safety. Not that we need reminded, but it certainly puts the topic in the headlines again. Last year, it was the onion recall. This year, it may very well be the Jiff peanut butter recall, of which we are in the midst of.  At the time of the publishing, we are starting to learn more about a potential hepatitis A outbreak linked to strawberries.  If you have not been impacted by either of these recalls in your personal or business life, I would be surprised.

Sanitation, Sanitation, Where Art Thou?

Continuing the theme I picked up on a few months ago, discussing common causes of foodborne illness, I’d like to focus this blog on cross contamination, more precisely sanitation. Sanitation is another issue that employees don’t often do at home, so they discount the importance of it in the food production environment. That is to say that they have never made someone sick at home because they only clean their countertops and they have likely never sanitized their kitchen, so why is it so important in a foodservice facility?