Public health officials say that even when restaurant and other food service employees wear gloves, food can become contaminated. At this time, however, glove use is not mandated by Indiana food law. Gloves, when used correctly, can be a great asset to a food service establishment. The problem begins with the food handler who does not wash his or her hands before applying the gloves.
Soiled hands contaminate the gloves as they are picked up and placed on the hands.
To prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses, hands must be washed between every glove change. This is a practice that has proven difficult to enforce. Many food workers have been observed to perform tasks with gloves and then to return to handling food without washing their hands or changing the soiled gloves. Taking out the trash, mopping the floor, handling raw meat, and cleaning with chemicals are ways of spreading disease or introducing contaminants into food. The gloves tend to protect the hands from feeling or looking dirty, and employees may then forget to change them.