National Centre for Food Science, Singapore Food Agency, 7 International Business Park, Singapore 609919, Singapore.
National Centre for Food Science, Singapore Food Agency, 7 International Business Park, Singapore 609919, Singapore; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
J Food Prot. 2023 Nov;86(11):100146. doi: 10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100146. Epub 2023 Aug 22.
Hand hygiene is critical in the food service industry. Bacteria can easily be transferred between different surfaces to food during food preparation. Common hygiene practices include hand washing and usage of disposable gloves. Food handlers are often susceptible to transferring pathogenic bacteria to food, thus proper hand hygiene can limit such transmission. While gloves serve as a barrier between bare hands and food, their misuse, including reuse or lack of change, can potentially result in cross-contamination, compromising on food safety. In Singapore, strict regulations and consumer perceptions have encouraged the use of gloves in food handling. This study assessed the microbiological profile of gloves used by food handlers across fifty randomly chosen food establishments, by swabbing samples from the inner and outer surfaces of gloves. Glove samples were also subjected to a watertight test to detect significant physical damage. The results revealed that gloves with damage exhibited significantly higher mean Standard Plate Counts (SPCs), suggesting the likelihood that damaged gloves promoted the transfer of bacteria. Damaged gloves used to handle certain types of food, like noodles and rice dishes, also had significantly higher mean SPC than those used for beverages and snacks. However, gloves without visible damage showed no significant difference in mean SPC across different food types. The study highlighted that proper glove use can help in preventing bacterial transfer and consequently, maintaining food safety. Regular glove changes, particularly when damaged, are imperative. The findings underscore the importance of proper glove use in conjunction with other hand hygiene practices to uphold food hygiene and safety standards.
在餐饮行业，手部卫生至关重要。在食品制备过程中，细菌很容易从不同表面转移到食物上。常见的卫生措施包括洗手和使用一次性手套。食品处理人员经常容易将病原菌转移到食物上，因此适当的手部卫生可以限制这种传播。虽然手套可以作为裸手和食物之间的屏障，但如果手套使用不当，例如重复使用或不更换，可能会导致交叉污染，从而危及食品安全。在新加坡，严格的法规和消费者认知促使食品处理人员在食品处理中使用手套。本研究通过从手套的内、外表面擦拭样本，评估了五十家随机选择的食品店中食品处理人员使用的手套的微生物特征。还对手套样本进行了防水测试，以检测明显的物理损伤。结果表明，有损伤的手套的平均标准平板计数（SPC）显著较高，这表明受损手套更有可能促进细菌的转移。用于处理面条和米饭等特定类型食物的受损手套的平均 SPC 也明显高于用于饮料和小吃的手套。然而，没有明显可见损伤的手套在不同类型的食物中，其平均 SPC 没有显著差异。该研究强调了正确使用手套有助于防止细菌转移，从而确保食品安全。尤其是当手套受损时，应定期更换手套。这些发现强调了在维持食品卫生和安全标准方面，正确使用手套与其他手部卫生措施相结合的重要性。
