While purchasing a carry-out order consisting of two submarine sandwiches from a national sandwich restaurant chain, I was less than convinced that the food that I was getting was actually sanitary. As I watched my sandwiches being made, I really had to wonder what real purpose is served by requiring food handlers to wear plastic gloves while preparing food.

The person that waited on me was wearing plastic gloves, the kind that is baggy and wrinkled. As she set about getting the bread for my order, she opened the storage area where the bread is kept, got the bread out for my order, and closed the door. She ran out of chicken and disappeared into a back room to get more. She put the chicken and cheese for my sandwiches on the bread and asked me if I would like them toasted. She opened the door to the oven, took out the tray, placed my sandwiches on it, replaced the tray and closed the door.

When the oven timer went off, she removed my sandwiches from the oven, and put the rest of the condiments and ingredients on the sandwiches as I requested. The mayonnaise was in a plastic squirt bottle which she picked up and squirted onto the sandwiches. The paper wrapping was at the end of the food preparation counter, and she wrapped both sandwiches, put them in a plastic bag and handed it to me. She did all of this while wearing the same set of gloves.

So what real protection does wearing plastic gloves to handle food serve if the food handler touches contaminated objects while wearing the gloves, and doesn't change them when switching from handling food to another task? Since that particular type of plastic glove has tiny wrinkles, it acts as storage area for contamination and pathogens.

Many states have passed laws that require food handlers to wear gloves, and requiring food handlers to wear gloves offers a false sense of security to consumers because the sight of gloves makes the food preparation process look clean and sanitary when it actually isn't. Many people don't notice that the person making their food is also touching contaminated objects and surfaces while wearing the same pair of gloves.

Where does this leave us regarding sanitation of our restaurant food? A report by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority suggests that proper hand washing is much more hygienic than wearing gloves. The report states that wearing plastic gloves tempts food handlers to wash their hands less frequently because they can't feel when something gets on their hands. The report also advocates that laws and restaurants not require food handlers to wear gloves, and that most food can be touched with bare hands provided the food handler has thoroughly washed and dried his or her hands immediately prior to handling the food.

Perhaps the answer lies in the use of other “barrier” methods such as forks, spoons, scoops, and tongs. Each time a food handler that is wearing gloves touches a surface besides food, those gloves are contaminated whereas other barriers such as utensils don't touch other contaminated surfaces as often.

If food handlers in places such as sandwich shops were monitored to ensure that they followed strict hygienic glove use where meticulous hand washing was done and gloves changed regularly, there wouldn't be so much concern over becoming ill from food contamination. Most people like to believe that anything that comes from a restaurant is safe and sanitary.

Since my state requires food handlers to wear gloves, the next time I go into that sandwich chain, I am going to request that the food handler put on a fresh pair of gloves prior to making my food. I am not a member of the germ police, but I do have a right to make sure that the food that I purchase is as sanitary as possible. I don't think that requiring the use of gloves is a bad thing, but I do feel that restaurants should monitor their staff carefully to make sure that they are adhering to strict sanitation guidelines.

Copyright 2007 Patti McMann. All rights reserved.