Food workers should use single-use gloves to protect ready-to-eat food from contamination. Single-use gloves act as a barrier that reduces direct hand contact with the food, lowering the risk of cross-contamination. Additionally, other good practices include avoiding bare hand contact, using utensils like tongs or deli tissue, storing ready-to-eat foods separately (preferably on top shelves), and maintaining strict hygiene and sanitizing surfaces and utensils to prevent contamination.
Key Practices to Protect Ready-to-Eat Food
- Wear single-use gloves and change them frequently, especially after handling raw foods or touching non-food surfaces.
- Avoid bare hand contact and use serving utensils when possible.
- Store ready-to-eat food above raw food to prevent drip contamination.
- Clean and sanitize all food-contact surfaces and utensils between uses.
- Maintain personal hygiene, including thorough handwashing and covering wounds.
- Hold ready-to-eat food at safe temperatures (cold below 41°F/5°C, hot above 135°F/57°C).
Using single-use gloves combined with these hygiene and storage protocols ensures maximum protection against contamination of ready-to-eat foods.
