Vinyl Gloves for a Safer Food Service

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there are millions of Americans who are sick because of illness transmitted by food

worker’s hand every year. Lightly powdered, heavy weight (3.5 to 6.5 mils thickness)

disposable vinyl gloves are perfect for food service and food handling which last longer than

ordinary disposable gloves. “The Consumer Product Safety Commission has reviewed the safety

of vinyl toys, and the F.D.A. has reviewed the safety of vinyl medical devices, and both agencies

have found little to no concern with the vast majority of vinyl products they’ve reviewed. I think

that probably says a lot about the safety of vinyl gloves.” Allen Blakey who is a spokesman for

the Vinyl Institute said. As a matter of fact, vinyl gloves are produced from materials which fully

comply with FDA Rule 177.1950 for food contact and FDA Rule 110.10 GMP for food

handling. Meanwhile, they are compliant with FFDCA standards for use in foodservice.

 Latex-free eliminates allergy concerns. Nowadays, most gloves in the market are made of latex

which is a component of natural rubber. However, allergic reactions may be caused by particles

of latex not only among workers who wear the gloves in restaurants but also among customers

who eat food prepared by them. While wearing disposal vinyl gloves, people do not need to

worry about allergy because of they are latex free. “The raw material of disposal vinyl gloves

does not contain the ingredients of plasticizer, esters and silicone oil, so they have the feature of

strong chemical resistance”iii.

 Greater dexterity and comfort. User will not feel uncomfortable for long-time wearing. “The

gloves are unbreakable and resistant to puncture with strong tensile strength. They provide snug

fit capabilities and good degree of dexterity”iv.

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 Provides high heat Resistance. “Vinyl are more resistant to ozone and oil than natural rubber

latex (NRL) so that they can be used around heat sources without risk of melting”iv. The heat

resistance of vinyl gloves is far greater than those of polyethylene gloves (see Table 2).

Table 2. Gloves status when new and durability with use or after being sanitized.v

 Low cost. As mentioned in the graphic, the performances of disposable vinyl gloves are not the

best among various material gloves. Another strength for vinyl gloves is low cost, which ensures

the widely usage in restaurants and food service industry. The high ratio of cost/performance

guarantees lower expenditure and better service. Although nitrile gloves and PU gloves have

better performance on some aspects, their cost are much higher than disposable vinyl gloves. As

a result, vinyl gloves provides good service with much lower cost, which is most suitable for

food preparation. An industry based comparison shows the cost effectiveness of vinyl gloves (see

Table 3).

Table 3. Comparison guide for glove types used in food processing/service facilities.vi

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Closing Thoughts

Considering the facts which shows how disposable polythene gloves could pose problems in

food service, it is advised that they should be replaced with disposable vinyl gloves. Vinyl

has been considered safe by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the F.D.A. The

material used in vinyl gloves production complies with FDA rules for food contact and

handling. Also the low cost of vinyl gloves can be considered as deciding factor over

disposable polythene gloves. If the organization chooses to continue with disposable

polythene gloves, it is recommended that food handler’s dispose gloves at regular intervals.

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References:

i WebstaurantStore. Disposable Gloves. WebstaurantStore.com. Retrieved from

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/guide/514/disposable-gloves.html

ii Inteplast group, ltd.; agency reviews patent application approval request for "disposable gloves and glove material

compositions including a coloring agent". (2013). Food Weekly News, 46. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1323098085?accountid=10920

iii Dongguan Jiachuang Purification Technology Co.,Ltd (2013). Comparative Analysis of PVC gloves and other

disposable gloves. Retrieved from http://www.dgjc168.com/zh-tw/dgjc168_Article_426603.html

iv LIU Xue (2012). Energy Saving of PVC Gloves Industry. Shandong Chemical Industry. Retrieved from

http://www.cqvip.com/read/read.aspx?id=41502360

v Barry Michaels (2004). Understanding the glove risk paradigm: Part II. Food Safety Magazine. Retrieved from

http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/augustseptember-2004/understanding-the-glove-riskparadigm-

part-ii/

vi Barry Michaels (2004). Understanding the glove risk paradigm: Part II. Food Safety Magazine. Retrieved from

http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/augustseptember-2004/understanding-the-glove-riskparadigm-

part-ii/