Should Food Servers Wear Gloves?

June 14, 2007

While in line at Starbucks, I watched a barista gently place pastries into the glass case. He was wearing big, baggie plastic gloves that looked like they were difficult to wear. The coffee cake slipped from his hands and crumbled on the plate. I couldn't help but wonder why on earth was he wearing those gloves? I know it was for sanitary reasons, but it seemed silly: food should be dealt with by clean hands not slippery plastic (is it even really cleaner than hands?). What do you think, should food servers, cooks, sandwiches makers, baristas, etc. wear gloves?

52 Comments

mochachino 5 years 48 weeks

And on another note how clean are the hands that touch the gloves they put on their hands? Not to be a complete germaphob, but if we are looking at how clean the hands are, did they wash their hands before they put them into the gloves and if not, does it even matter anymore since they are about to croos contaminate my food with the nasty that is on the gloves?

mochachino 5 years 48 weeks

I think in the case where food is mass produced yes. Like a busy resturaunt like Friday's or Olive Garden. But like Starbucks, think about it if you are supposed to wash your hands every twenty minutes for twenty seconds, including when you sneeze, go the bathroom, smoke, etc, it would seem that the workers hands are cleaner than sometimes ours. And I have seen the patron walk out of the bathroom without washing their hands, considering that I have washed my hands twice before I have made another drink. (in the bathroom and again at the bar) So I honestly think in a somewhat small place like Starbucks if they touched it with their hands, it would be ok, as long as they didn't sneeze or something gross before. And half the time you can visabiliy see them wash their hands with and exposed kitchen like that.

saffy1227 5 years 48 weeks

of course.

cravinsugar 5 years 49 weeks

JessBear, I have worked food service, and don't think gloves are necessary <b>EXCEPT</b> for those who handle food AFTER it is cooked. Before it doesn't matter because the germs are killed during the cooking process. Why do you think you can't eat raw chicken without getting sick? Because you have to cook it, to a minimum of 165 degrees F for atleast 15 seconds to kill the salmonella. I know this sounds silly, but the Health Department in your state has a predetermined set of temperatures all food has to be cooked to in order to kill germs, etc. After is is cooked is when the gloves need to come on...like at Subway.

cravinsugar 5 years 49 weeks

JessBear, I have worked food service, and don't think gloves are necessary EXCEPT for those who handle food AFTER it is cooked. Before it doesn't matter because the germs are killed during the cooking process. Why do you think you can't eat raw chicken without getting sick? Because you have to cook it, to a minimum of 165 degrees F for atleast 15 seconds to kill the salmonella. I know this sounds silly, but the Health Department in your state has a predetermined set of temperatures all food has to be cooked to in order to kill germs, etc. After is is cooked is when the gloves need to come on...like at Subway.

poetess 5 years 49 weeks

Gloves, hair nets, I would prefer face masks and that is ridiculous. For these reasons, I eat at home and take food on the go as much as possible.

wowjules 5 years 49 weeks

Gloves come in small, medium, and large in the health care industry, I'm pretty sure it's not restricted to just us nurses and doctors. So. Yes, I absolutely think food servers should wear gloves.

JessBear 5 years 49 weeks

This is going to sound meaner than intended, but- anyone who has to ask that question has obviously never worked in food service. And one thing no one's mentioned- cuts and scrapes on your hands, warts, brittle fingernails, etc. Those little finger condoms and bandaids don't work, because you still have to wash your hands, and then the bandaids fall off. Whenever I've had to wear a bandaid at work, I end up washing my hands LESS, bc it turns into a hassle. And since it's nearly impossible to monitor who has a papercut, and it's mean to say "you have to wear gloves bc you have REALLY hairy knuckles" (you think I'm kidding- but would you want knuckle hair in your sandwich?), it's just better to make gloves the standard. Companies should just suck it up and fork over the money for gloves that fit- we always had disposable gloves in three sizes. And I think it should be mandatory for places that deal only with cooked food, too- I worked at Domino's, and, man, we weren't very sanitary. When you can fall back on "the 500 degree oven will kill everything" (not mocking cravinsugar- we really used to say that!), you tend to be reeeeeally lax about hand washing. Gosh, this was long. :-)

JessBear 5 years 49 weeks

This is going to sound meaner than intended, but- anyone who has to ask that question has obviously never worked in food service.And one thing no one's mentioned- cuts and scrapes on your hands, warts, brittle fingernails, etc. Those little finger condoms and bandaids don't work, because you still have to wash your hands, and then the bandaids fall off. Whenever I've had to wear a bandaid at work, I end up washing my hands LESS, bc it turns into a hassle. And since it's nearly impossible to monitor who has a papercut, and it's mean to say "you have to wear gloves bc you have REALLY hairy knuckles" (you think I'm kidding- but would you want knuckle hair in your sandwich?), it's just better to make gloves the standard. Companies should just suck it up and fork over the money for gloves that fit- we always had disposable gloves in three sizes. And I think it should be mandatory for places that deal only with cooked food, too- I worked at Domino's, and, man, we weren't very sanitary. When you can fall back on "the 500 degree oven will kill everything" (not mocking cravinsugar- we really used to say that!), you tend to be reeeeeally lax about hand washing.Gosh, this was long. :-)

grl in the world 5 years 49 weeks

Wear gloves and change them OFTEN!! It grosses me out at places where they don't wear gloves, especially fast food places: One minute they are handling cash (money is soooo dirty) the next they're filling up your fry container and drink...ewww!

pinky8486 5 years 49 weeks

I work in the food service business and gloves are not necessary. Hand washing however, is obviously mandatory several times.

blackjade 5 years 49 weeks

Glove do a great job of making people (customers) feel better - myself included. That is until I see the person wearing the gloves, handle money, open or closer a drawer......basically touch anything other than the food or a plate and the gloves are now no cleaner than your hands. lovely. everyone should just use tongs :)

blackjade 5 years 49 weeks

cravinsugar 5 years 49 weeks

amandaaa, you can go online and look up what health score the restaurant you want to eat at has. in Virginia, if it is not an "A" then all the critical violations are listed online for all to see. Health inspectors can be sneaky about checking to see if your hands are washed, so if a restaurant gets an "A" rating, for the most part people are diong what they are supposed to.

cravinsugar 5 years 49 weeks

haha, except for people who are allergice to neoprene (me) haha. I guess everyting is allergic to someone. My lips and tongue swell up after i get a mean rash and then i continue to deteriorate further frmo there. kind of like Paris haha.

amandaaa 5 years 49 weeks

when i read the headline i was like YEAH what a stupid question! but now that you mention the difficulty, i see your point. hmm...but how do we know workers will constantly wash their hands?

facin8me 5 years 49 weeks

Just like anything- it depends on how it's implemented. If people can't take the time to wash their hands, there's no indication that they will take the gloves on and off as needed and they'll just wear them for everything that they're doing. Also, it's a bad idea to wear latex gloves (the nice fitting kind that the doctors use) when preparing food for the public because so many people have allergies to it. My best friend's mother has to call every restaurant before she eats at it to ensure that they do not use latex gloves in the kitchen. She learned this lesson the hard way- she went into anaphylactic shock after eating some vegetables that were cut up by a worker wearing latex gloves. Vinyl gloves or a neoprene based glove works well, but they are either too floppy on the hand or too expensive, respectively.

facin8me 5 years 49 weeks

RCLdesigngirl 5 years 49 weeks

We have the right not to engage in unprotected food consumption. :)

RCLdesigngirl 5 years 49 weeks

We have the right not to engage in unprotected food consumption.:)

bfly1133 5 years 49 weeks

It completely depends on the situation and the food. And this is coming from a girl with a very, very low immune system. :) I do believe as a society we are getting a little too hung up on germs. (Please don't throw things at me!)People are constantly scrubbing with anti-bacterial soap when it actually does more harm than good. However, I will say there are definitely times where we really need to be concerned about what we come in contact with and how we get clean afterward.

pinupsweetheart 5 years 49 weeks

Of course they should. They do have different types of plastic gloves. Of course the cheap ones are the one size fit's all slippery plastic ones. The more expensive ones are like the ones doctors use.

SweetMagicFairy 5 years 49 weeks

Yep

SweetMagicFairy 5 years 49 weeks

Yep

txhottie 5 years 49 weeks

As a former manager of a Starbucks like coffee shop - GLOVES. And at that it is still a mystery to me how people don't think about what they are touching with the glove. Starbucks buys those big baggy gloves b/c they fit everyone and are cheaper than the latex or rubber gloves. If you are wearing gloves that is great, but don't touch your head, hair, nose, or god forbid the horrible apron! Which by the way don't get washed, and they are traded all amongst the baristas! I used to take them home myself in two piles and wash them for my employees! I think a chef in a restaurant is a different story than the local coffee shop, fast food place or diner. They are professionals, so they should know.

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