Smell the Glove
Is there a biologist in the house? The past few years have required the assistance of chemists, and miraculously they appeared. But 2012 is already headed down a much different path.
Really I need a microbiologist to make me smarter about bacteria.
Although I would have been fine just leaving the subject of dangerous micro organisms to Danger Milk, -R went and made the following comment, which really got me fired up:
All it takes is one careless swipe of an ungloved hand, and poof – E. coli or salmonella for the masses. I actually find it rather amazing that we don’t see more outbreaks of food poisoning, especially given the lax hygienic standards adhered to by most food distributors and eateries. A short review of Albany County’s DOH Restaurant Inspection site, shows how even the most upscale places have more than the occasional unwanted pratfall.
-R’s overall point was that risk exists everywhere, and that should not stop us from eating tasty food. I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment. Where we part ways is on the importance of gloves and the relative danger of “an ungloved hand.”
Forget for a moment that we are talking about disposable gloves here that clog up landfills and can end up polluting our oceans. And disregard just how many of them are required by local governments all over the country in a misguided effort to keep us all safe.
Now try to ignore the facts about how much E. coli and salmonella are already in food thanks to lax regulator oversight, inhumane and crowded conditions for animals, and big agricultural businesses that prioritize profits over safety.
Gloves are not magic bacteria reducing devices.
I really liked this story from Memphis that details some common health code violations of restaurant workers who are actually using gloves. They are:
* NOT WASHING HANDS BEFORE THEY APPLY GLOVES
* NOT WASHING HANDS WHEN CHANGING GLOVES
* USING THE RESTROOM, THEN DONNING GLOVES WITHOUT WASHING HANDS
Gloves are a problem in and of themselves. When people put on gloves, they think they are clean. Here is how the matter was explained by registered environmental health specialist (whatever that means), Michael Dodd in an ostensibly pro-glove post.
When people work with food using their bare hands, they immediately notice when juices get on their hands and will most likely wash their hands before continuing with their next task. This is not necessarily the case when people are wearing gloves. They may not realize it is time to wash their hands.
But the issue isn’t just with the wearer. When consumers see gloves, they get the mistaken impression a restaurant is clean.
So in a sense gloves are simply a marketing gimmick that in some very serious ways are dirtier than hands. And if you think this isn’t at least in part about consumer perceptions, then I encourage you to take a look at the New York State Department of Health Q&A on hand washing and the use of gloves.
Here’s the question: Must I change my gloves after touching money with gloves on?
It’s a good question. Money is filthy stuff.
The answer is that it’s not illegal, but that really you should. Why? Because despite the fact that, “Food outbreak investigations have not identified the handling of money as a cause of illness” the DOH has found, “Many patrons complain to the local health department if they see food workers using the same gloves to prepare food and handle money.”
And do you know one of the kinds of food that cannot be touched with bare hands according to the NYS DOH? Fruit or vegetables for mixed drinks.
When is the last time you saw a bartender anywhere in New York put on a pair of gloves before reaching into the garnish tray for a lime? Sure, there may be some places that stab garnishes and plop them in the drink. But you can’t put a lime wheel on the rim of a glass with tongs. That’s crazy talk.
Seriously, someone is getting rich off this and laughing themselves all the way to the bank.
The answer to keeping harmful bacteria from restaurant workers out of the food is good old-fashioned hand washing and a little bit of common sense. There is no magic in plastic. But if you are truly concerned about the safety of your food, you have a lot more to worry about than whether or not the guy at the pizza shop was wearing gloves.
FUSSYlittleBLOG 
There was a snippet in a recent Wall Street Journal about a UK study that showed virtually all paper money showed traces of cocaine, and many prepared foods show traces of e. coli but in super microscopic quantities that are not harmful. Scientists explained these are complex, persistent and very easily detectable molecules. But if you want to be paranoid you could say that if a food worker handles money while preparing your meal, you are at risk of getting both sick and high.
Ironically, the gloves used in the food industry are non-sterile. And yes, I agree – the perception of cleanliness is what gets most folks hung up on gloves. We picture a surgeon scrubbing down and sticking both hands into a patient and anticipate the same sterility has applied to our minimum wage sub jockey making up a sandwich for us. Gloves are certainly no panacea. My point was more to illustrate the potential dangers of cross contamination from, say, working with raw poultry to then preparing your garden salad, and that the same risk applies with or without a cheap polyvinyl barrier in the way. Alas, our world is filled with germs – recent studies have shown that well over half of fountain-style beverage dispensers are contaminated to some degree with fecal coliform bacteria – patrons of such establishments clearly aren’t very thoughtful about washing their hands after a trip to the potty before refilling their Mountain Dew. Perhaps a point can be made about placing the sink, soap and sanitization unguents outside the main bathroom door too – how thoughtful to actually wash your hands only to grasp a door knob/handle which, yup, is essentially smeared with successive layers of poo from those less enlightened.
All toilet humor aside, one could argue that exposure to minute amounts of most pernicious viruses, bacterium, and other single-celled beasties (especially during the developmental years) is actually beneficial in the development of a robust immune system. With parents chasing after their children and not allowing them outside (too dangerous and there’s always video games), wiping down every surface in the house with bleach-based cleaners (germs!!), slapping the mud pies out of their hands (dirt), and living in an enforced pseudo-sterile bubble, it’s a wonder children today even have a functioning immune system; perhaps this also explains the recent increase in maladies such as asthma and food-based allergies. In short – a little dirt doesn’t hurt. Of course, as an adult I’m borderline OCD about washing my hands mainly to avoid the common cold, so maybe you shouldn’t be listening to me anyway.
Let’s apply common sense to the issue of food safety. If restaurant and processed foods were really that bad, we’d all be sick all the time. How many times a month does the average American eat out? Why aren’t we all getting sick if the food supply is tainted with lots of germs? It’s like global warming. The data indicates that the climate is changing, and yet life goes on just as it always has. I’m not suggesting that people don’t get sick from tainted food, but compared to how much processed and restaurant food we’re eating today, if the food supply were that bad, we’d be sick, really sick.
Here’s some more yuck stuff: Parasites are spread the same way as bacteria, plus. Gloves are not the answer. After doing some reading about parasites, I am hesitating to eat rare meat. And I’ve always thought raw/rare fish is a bad idea around here. Worms!!! Eeew!!
A thoroughly enlightening and disgusting post. The title was revolting, as well. Thanks for that. :)
Seriously, though: the women who work at the cafe in my building almost never wear gloves, and it kind of makes me ill. Mostly because of the money-handling. The place is pretty clean, though, and their sandwiches are great. Expensive, but great.
I agree – wearing gloves is not really an answer. I always think it’s strange when I see it. As far as handling money with the gloves – honestly, if I buy a sandwich on the go, I’m probably going to eat it with the same hands than handled the money to pay for it, so unless I am confident of the cleanliness of the money in my pocket but suspicious of all other money, I may as well take my chances.
All the stuff from -R about bathroom doors etc. – yeah – I sometimes try to use a paper towel to open the door, but it’s not even close to making it OK if I actually think about it.
I appreciated the title reference by the way.
Gloves do seem pointless in most establishments since the people who wear them are under the impression that gloves exist to protect their own hands from touching anything. My Festivus Grievance at AoA was directly in regard to this issue.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a place where people wearing gloves touch their clothing, hair, face, money etc…what’s worse – freezer doors, microwaves and other surfaces. Yuck yuck yuck. Although the worst offense was once seeing someone pick up a broom and start sweeping behind the counter at a sub shop while my sub was being heated (which is an offense in and of itself, I know) and then returned to fixing my sub without changing gloves. Also, seeing the dude at Uncommon Grounds scratch his face is just as gross as when he touches the microwave.
I realize bacteria is spreading regardless – but a lot of that could be cut down if people knew how to wear their gloves properly – or maybe consider for a moment the PURPOSE of the gloves. I’d like to think it’s common sense, but my obsession with hand washing/surfaces/etc has been an irritation to both my current and ex husband. I can’t help it. I think my obsession started with my first job at Subway (yes yes, I know, it sucks, but I was 15)…my boss made sure we all made a point of first greeting customers and then excusing ourselves to the visible sink where we thoroughly washed our hands before preparing each sub – and if we touched a microwave, went to the freezer or handled money, we took a few moments to rewash our hands. The moment gloves game into the picture my co-workers became sloppy in their behaviors – touched clothing, faces, microwaves with their gloves…and it’s a good point – I think a big part of it is because you can’t FEEL yourself doing those things.
I believe it’s important to make the distinction between pathogenic bacteria and regular old bacteria. For instance, there is a common strain of e. coli that are present in all of our stomachs and there is one that can kill you too. For that matter, I’ve been told on very good authority that most biologists would say bacteria is more our friend than foe.
Washing hands, not touching surfaces and eating sanitary food is used to avoid pathogenic bacteria, not all bacteria. While these practices are useful, they really only do so much, which is to say that you really should be more worried about reducing yourself to environments where pathogenic bacteria has been able to thrive, i.e. don’t eat meat that has been in the danger zone too long, eat fresh and washed vegetables, et cetera. Even still, certain types of molds (which are colonies of billions of bacterium) are an example where we purposely let bacteria thrive and yet there are no negative repercussions from it.
It is my understanding that gloves are meant to reduce transfer of possible pathogenic bacteria contained on meat to things that won’t be cooked. We do this because while we cook meat, we don’t cook things like lettuce. If there were pathogenic bacteria on meat and this got transferred to something like lettuce, this will possibly provide the perfect environment for this bacteria to thrive and hurt someone. Wash your hands before you work, throw gloves on before you handle meat products and promptly remove them before touching any other surface is what I was taught from day one working in kitchens. That said, yes, some people don’t follow this.
To me, the important thing to remember about pathogens in general is that there is no binary relationship involved with getting ill and nothing will fully protect you from getting sick. Being overly cautious may make you feel cleaner or healthier but there is a point where you are just as likely as anyone else to become infected. (This is referred to as the constant force of infection in epidemiology.)