Prep Gloves

motoeric

motoeric

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Hi,

How many teams use gloves when prepping food and then again when prepping turn-in boxes?

I thought that it was pretty much SOP until I saw Notley Que on Pitmasters up to his wrist in pulled pork without gloves. Sorta gross.

Am I just used to exceptionally clean teams and most cooks don't use gloves or was that an anomaly?


Eric
 
I'll just say that "using gloves does not automatically mean clean and sanitary". The inverse is also true.

(We use them pretty much all the time - gets darn pricey!)
 
It's a requirement in the FBA.
 
Most probably have the best intentions and gloves get used with the majoriy of teams for the majority of the time, but it's clearly not 100% sanitary. Too much time goes by for exceptions, lapses in judgement or indifference to happen even with some of the most veteran cooks.

I'm sure sampling sauces off a spoon that they continue to stir with happens as well, or teams not washing hands after using a porta potty that does not have hand sanitizer dispenser in it etc.

on the flip side, for some it's more often about keeping their hands clean rather than being concerned about food safety and spreading of germs.

So who wants to judge now ????
 
Last edited:
We cringe when we watch food shows and we see food handled by bare hands. Bourdain in foreign countries is understandable (that's why you bring pepto on trips) but for US-based contests and restaurants, it's just wrong.

In the USA: EVERYONE KNOWS BETTER and so I put it up to laziness and a lack of consideration for their fellow man. I know restaurants can be a nightmare but some are not.
 
Simply put, anything (Hands, cutting board, knifes, etc.) need to clean and sanitized acording to Health Department (HD) regulations. If you have ever been at a compatition, most Teams do not have hot water. I definetly think a DQ should happen if the basics of Food Handling is not followed.
 
Eric, you mentioned the pitmasters program. My wife just freaks out when she sees them doing all the prepping and such with no gloves. Did anyone happen to notice the "gourmet chef" Paul cooking his ribs up and everytime he moved them around on the smoker the first place his fingers would go to is right in his mouth? Real class act there.
We go though a case of disposable gloves a season.
 
Let's not be to harsh on Notley. I've cooked plenty of times with him and he's always used gloves. Keep in mind that this "reality show" isn't always about reality. There are plenty of retakes and such where continuity is overlooked.
 
Working around food service and in watching food handlers both on TV (BBQ Pitmasters, Food Network shows, etc.), and at work, gloves... why even wear them? I see people with gloves on pick their nose and continue to work with their food and other stuff that just negates the use of gloves. If you're going to use them for sanitary reasons, keep in mind that once you clean the toilet, you oughta change your gloves!

If your hands are washed and clean, fingernails trimmed and clean underneath, you are probably just as sanitary as a person wearing a brand new pair of gloves. But you have to clean your hands or replace your gloves once you leave that "sterile field".

Just my 2 cents from what I have personally observed.

John
 
JohnJ said:
Working around food service and in watching food handlers both on TV (BBQ Pitmasters, Food Network shows, etc.), and at work, gloves... why even wear them? I see people with gloves on pick their nose and continue to work with their food and other stuff that just negates the use of gloves. If you're going to use them for sanitary reasons, keep in mind that once you clean the toilet, you oughta change your gloves!

If your hands are washed and clean, fingernails trimmed and clean underneath, you are probably just as sanitary as a person wearing a brand new pair of gloves. But you have to clean your hands or replace your gloves once you leave that "sterile field".

Just my 2 cents from what I have personally observed.

John
Click to expand...
How very true. I like watching the guy put the gloves on, then open the door, grab the food,then grab a knife to open the package then...you get the idea.
Gloves are to be used on the task at hand, not for everyday actions.
 
Gloves are not required for food handling by health departments except in rare cases, but frequent hand washing is always required, even when wearing gloves. Many kitchen managers believe that gloves are often the CAUSE of contamination, because when wearing them your hands don't feel dirty so people tend to not change them when they would rewash their hands.

Clean hands are no more of a health risk than gloves. If you look in most restaurants and your own home you will see people preparing food without gloves more often than not. Everyone in the food service business understands this, but for some reason a segment of the population has become fixated on the idea that gloves = safe when nothing could be further from the truth.
 
CivilWarBBQ said:
Gloves are not required for food handling by health departments except in rare cases, but frequent hand washing is always required, even when wearing gloves. Many kitchen managers believe that gloves are often the CAUSE of contamination, because when wearing them your hands don't feel dirty so people tend to not change them when they would rewash their hands.

Clean hands are no more of a health risk than gloves. If you look in most restaurants and your own home you will see people preparing food without gloves more often than not. Everyone in the food service business understands this, but for some reason a segment of the population has become fixated on the idea that gloves = safe when nothing could be further from the truth.
Click to expand...

The sad thing is that most folks in direct-contact with food in food service are from the third world (God bless them but they are from another midset/culture) and I have worked with them for years. They usually do not understand (or care about) basic health and safety best practices or the reasons behind them. We need to have better education and enforcement for all involved.

It would be nice if hand washing was done at regular intervals but it is not. Glove management keeps hygiene top of mind for everyone in the kitchen. It's sad but if they are aware of glove use, they tend to keep hygiene top of mind (in a way).
 
I think we should bringing this discussion back to the topic on competition and not general food service....

Do you see/know teams that do not use gloves or regularly wash their hands, or use other unsanitary practices ?

If so, how do you think can this be improved by teams overall ?
 
MilitantSquatter said:
I think we should bringing this discussion back to the topic on competition and not general food service....

Do you see/know teams that do not use gloves or regularly wash their hands, or use other unsanitary practices ?

If so, how do you think can this be improved by teams overall ?
Click to expand...

Very hard to improve, we're all adults, and I don't think people would take to kindly someone telling them to wash their hands.. I too have seen some pretty unsanitary practices, part of the reason why I chose not to judge.

The way I look at it, my mom eats my leftovers. You can bet that I do not want her or other loved ones to get sick, so sanitation is very important in my camp.
 
CivilWarBBQ said:
Gloves are not required for food handling by health departments except in rare cases, but frequent hand washing is always required, even when wearing gloves. Many kitchen managers believe that gloves are often the CAUSE of contamination, because when wearing them your hands don't feel dirty so people tend to not change them when they would rewash their hands.

Clean hands are no more of a health risk than gloves. If you look in most restaurants and your own home you will see people preparing food without gloves more often than not. Everyone in the food service business understands this, but for some reason a segment of the population has become fixated on the idea that gloves = safe when nothing could be further from the truth.
Click to expand...

Well put. :-D

I've never seen my grandma put on a set of rubber gloves.

Clean hands? I'm a big fan of that, but don't leave the house if you get too worked up over stuff like that.
 
I use nitrile gloves for prepping my meat. I have to special order them cause my hands are to big for the ones you can buy off the shelves. The rest of the time I use the little thin vinyl food service gloves for making boxes and such.

I've gotten so used to using them that I keep a box of the food service gloves in my kitchen. It keeps onion and seafood smells off my hands and I feel like it helps keep down any possible cross contamination.
 
As long as you keep up general sanitary conditions, gloves are great but I have seen many people have gloves on opening doors, going from raw meat to cooking meat, etc... Use common sense please
 
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