When are food workers required to change gloves? Are they required to wear gloves?  If you intend to start your restaurant or cafe,  you better know the answers. Continue reading to find out when are food workers required to change gloves.

Gloves protect your hands from the heat while ensuring no contaminants are entering the food from your hands. Food workers need to use gloves after smoking, coughing, and using the bathroom.

Every 2 hours of glove change prevents bacterial growth or other pathogenic microorganisms. Wear gloves that suit the size of your hands and not longer ones to prevent frequent tears and leaks or tear. Washing hands with sanitizer before wearing gloves helps prevent contamination from harmful bacteria.

1. When are Food Workers Required to Change Gloves? 

When a food worker’s task shifts between raw and ready-to-eat food changing gloves is a handy option and serves a purpose. Also, when a food worker cleans using chemicals or cleaners, wearing gloves for safety is a priority.

When a food worker needs to handle non-food items of transaction such as money, wearing gloves is a protection. At times, when the food worker becomes soiled or torn.

A food worker touches their skin, nose, and other parts of their body and wants to prevent contaminants from entering the food, wearing gloves is the need of the hour to protect themselves as well as the food.

1.1 When are Food Workers Required to Change Gloves –  Handling Kitchen Ware

Washing hands before starting to cook and before touching vegetables, poultry, and other food products. Wearing gloves before utensils such as ceramic ware and tools such as forks, spoons, forks, spatulas, plates, and cutleries.

Covering hands with gloves before handling baking trays and hot items from the oven.

1.2 Wear Gloves Before You Handle Foods 

• Raw vegetables and fresh fruits
• Salads and other ingredients
• Sandwiches
• bread, rolls, toasts
• parsley, lemon, potato chips
• refrigerated meats

1.3 Prevent Cross-Contamination By Wearing Gloves

Kitchen staff need to wear gloves to minimize cross-contamination. A kitchen staff and food worker needs to wear gloves before handling cooked or ready-to-eat foods.

Single disposable gloves in the kitchen are a hand-in-hand tool. Kitchen staff use single disposable gloves for different operations as using the same gloves may cause contamination.

2.  When are Food Workers Required to Change Gloves – Few Scenarios

•  If you spot a visible defect on the glove
• Change gloves after two hours of continuous use
• While using one raw ingredient over another

• Disposing of food waste or garbage
• Handling cleaning foods and allergic foods
• After a sneeze or cough to prevent further contamination

2.1.Consequences of Failing to Wear Gloves

Wearing gloves shields customers and food workers against food-borne illnesses. Failure to wear gloves in crucial circumstances causes the epidemic of food-borne illnesses.

Food workers use gloves while operating equipment and handling raw foods. These can be the modes of spreading infections if food workers do not use gloves. If not shielded, can cause the outbreak of food-borne illnesses.

2.2 Etiquette and Safety Environment 

A food worker using gloves can provide a sanitary environment. It minimizes the contact with the food and also getting in contact with germs due to improper handling.

However, using the same gloves for all purposes may lead to a false sense of security worsening food safety issues. Food workers should be aware of protocols for changing gloves to prevent bad hygienic practices and serve the objective of using a tool. Visit for more information. 

2.3 Purpose of Wearing Gloves 

The use of gloves while handling food minimizes direct contact with food. An extra protection that prevents food contamination. Food workers have protocols and procedures while wearing and changing gloves.

Proper wearing and changing of gloves can decrease the risk of food contamination. FDA has ensured that hand washing alone cannot minimize the risk of food contamination Pathogens have minimal infective dose as people can ingest a small amount of pathogen to get sick.

2.4. Need to Change Gloves 

While using a glove continuously, moisture deposits may create fungus on the surface of your gloves that can cause food contamination. Gloves get stained when you clean different food contact surfaces. The same gloves used to perform different tasks can lead to the accumulation of microbial pathogens.

2.5. Use of Disposable Single-use Gloves 

Use single-disposable gloves while handling ready-to-eat food items.

The ready-to-eat food items will not go through processing and getting exposed to contaminants is minimized preventing the occurrence of food-borne illnesses. Moreover, food workers are required to wear single disposable gloves when injured or handicapped.

2.6. Handling Money and other Tools 

When you handle money for transactions, awareness of contaminants may make you cautious. This may require you to change gloves while transitioning from handling money to other food equipment and food.

2.7. Handling Raw and Cooked Foods 

The possibility of contamination while handling raw foods with bear hands may be widespread. Before touching raw, cooked, and meat products might require the use of gloves.

When you want to dispose of vegetable and meat wastes, you must change your gloves to prevent contamination from pathogens.

2.8. When are Food Workers Required to Change Gloves – Cleaning Kitchen Surfaces 

When you are cleaning a kitchen surface, changing gloves is imperative as you accumulate dirt on the gloves. Therefore, changing gloves after cleaning kitchen surfaces, utensils, and other tools ensures the prevention of the occurrence of infection due to pathogens.

2.9. When are Food Workers Required to Change Gloves? 

Restaurant chefs who cook meals and staff processing and packaging foods that require to be transported to the supermarkets. A food handler has to maintain contact with the food at some point in the supply chain of food management.

Food handlers are prone to the risk of injury that can expose their blood or skin to microbial contamination. Disinfecting gloves while handling food and other equipment is necessary for a food handler’s safety and precaution.

3.0 Conclusion – When are Food Workers Required to Change Gloves

Food workers ensure safety standards and protection according to FDA regulations. Food workers must deal with their kitchen equipment and tools by wearing gloves to keep the surfaces clean and free from contamination by dirt and microbes.

Glove is a protection for their hands ensuring customer safety and satisfaction to prevent the outbreak of food-borne illnesses. Maintaining a sanitary and hygienic environment in the kitchen helps them provide quality food free from contamination and according to the regulations of the FDA.

Last Updated on January 11, 2024 by namitasoren