Are Nitrile Gloves Food-Safe?

Disposable gloves are an essential tool kept in commercial kitchens around the world. They’re found in a rainbow of colors and a variety of materials, including vinyl, latex, polyethylene and nitrile.

Choosing the right kind of disposable glove is essential for safely handling food. While there are many options available, nitrile food service gloves are often considered one of the best available for ensuring food safety and cleanliness. 

Why Gloves Are Essential in Handling Food

The surface of the average human hand is covered in more than 2 million microorganisms. While washing your hands helps remove some of these bacteria, disposable gloves are still essential for avoiding the spread of foodborne illness.

Gloves help minimize contact with food and block the transfer of microorganisms that could cause contamination and illness. They protect customers from whatever may be on employees’ skin, including bacteria and potential allergens. 

Employees can more easily avoid cross-contamination from different kinds of foods by using different sets of gloves to work on raw meats and produce. Doing so helps prevent the spread of illnesses like salmonella.

At the same time, gloves also protect employees from foods that could irritate their skin, like hot peppers that could burn or onions that could leave lingering odors.

Are There Any FDA Requirements?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code requires employees to use gloves or utensils to handle any food that’s considered “ready to eat.” Food contact gloves are regulated under FDA Title 21 CFR Part 177, which indicates that approved gloves must be made from a material “generally recognized as safe for use in food and food packaging.”

At SUNLINE Supply, we carry food-safe gloves with FDA 510(k) Certifications. This certification indicates that these gloves are demonstrably safe and effective at the same levels as other approved personal protective equipment (PPE).

Our nitrile gloves are considered examination grade according to FDA standards. They’ve undergone tests to ensure their strength and resistance to puncture and permeation. This FDA certification also requires an acceptable quality level (AQL) of 2.5 or less, which means that no more than 25 gloves in a box of 1,000 will have pinhole defects.

Are Nitrile Gloves Safe for Food Prep?

Nitrile gloves are a great option for safe food handling. In fact, they’re one of the best types of food-safe disposable gloves for several reasons.

When you choose disposable gloves for handling food, you have to pick gloves that protect it from employees’ hands, but you also have to consider whether the glove itself will contaminate the substance. Nitrile gloves for food prep are ideal on both fronts. 

These gloves are strong, durable and puncture-resistant to protect the food from contact with employees. Unlike latex, which has a high allergy rate, nitrile is almost totally allergy-safe and won’t contaminate food with potentially harmful allergens or chemicals. 

Get Food-Safe Nitrile Gloves

SUNLINE Supply carries a variety of top-quality nitrile gloves for safely handling food in commercial kitchens, with multiple sizes and colors to ensure you get the exact product you need. We keep an extensive inventory which allows us to fulfill bulk orders quickly.

Browse our online catalog for food-safe nitrile gloves and other PPE, or get in touch to learn more about our selection. 

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