Why is it important to wear gloves while handling food?

Wearing gloves while handling food is essential primarily for preventing contamination from hands and ensuring food safety. When individuals prepare or serve food, their hands can carry bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that could potentially be transferred to the food, leading to foodborne illnesses. Gloves act as a barrier, minimizing the chances that harmful microorganisms will come into contact with food items.

Using gloves also helps maintain hygiene, especially when individuals are handling raw foods, which may harbor bacteria, and then move on to ready-to-eat items. It’s important to change gloves frequently, particularly when switching between different tasks or types of food, to ensure that cross-contamination does not occur. Overall, the primary focus of wearing gloves in food handling is to safeguard public health by upholding strict sanitation practices.