Those Gloves Aren't Keeping Your Food Safe

You probably cringe when you see the guy behind the deli counter putting your sandwich together without wearing gloves. But a new study says that when it comes to food safety, gloves can actually do more harm than good, partially because they provide a (possibly) false sense of security. The most effective way to safely handle food? Regular, thorough hand washing, reports Food Safety News.

The warm, moist environment inside a glove is the perfect place to harbor bacteria—and, more disturbingly, gloves that are not changed often enough can lead to cross-contamination. Writes Francis Lam on Salon, “wearing gloves creates an aura of hygiene that makes it far too easy for cooks to stop thinking about where their hands have been”—meaning they are more likely to forget they were just touching bleachy sponges or dirty coins moments before making your food. For more on the phenomenon, click here.
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