6 replies to this topic

[foodsafetyAUS]

Hi all,
Our factory is planning to remove the gloves usage from high care rooms ( saving costs) . It is a salad company and we deal with sachets and open allergens. What my manager asked me to do is for 2 weeks to conduct a hand swab after hand wash and test it for staph and E-coli.
Any thoughts regarding usage of gloves and micro test?
Thanks


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[SQFconsultant]

Yes, tell the manager he/she is insame and get the gloves back on.

[Scampi]

the company must be making huge bucks and running really well to worry about saving money from glove usage

 

 

show your boss what a recall really costs..................millions..........then ask if removing gloves is the best place to save a buck

[foodsafetyAUS]

I totally understand your point and it is out of my manager control. The factory is recently heavily focusing on margin and cutting the cost! The issues that we are going to face:
- we are not sure whether each operator follows 20 seconds of proper hand wash even if they follow we don’t know how long it will take to contaminate their hands! They will be in the room for minimum of 2-3 hours!
- working with different allergens - workers would not wash their hands for any small changes in allergens- it is very hard to control each individuals.
- it is a cold environment- 2-3 degree. Workers would not be happy to not to have gloves as it is very cold.

It is pretty scary...



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[CBMQA]

Be interesting how you are going to deal with any hair contamination issue. Still think a good hand washing program is better than a glove wearing program which encourages people to wear the same glove for extended periods of time. Ensuring people comply with regular and systematic hand washing is always a challenge in any environment but glove wearers can tend to think that they are invincible against the spread of bacteria especially if they like to touch their face, floor and garbage bins etc.

[foodsafetyAUS]

Yes, I observed few operators who don’t conduct hand washing and wear gloves/ sanitise glove before entering to the room! It is wrong. When we see it, we stop them but we are not always in change rooms!


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[CBMQA]

Sounds like you guys may need a walk through gate hand hygiene control system where everyone must wash, rinse and dry before access granted. Useful for high care processing zones where you want to ensure hand hygiene compliance on entry every time. Seen used in various meat, dairy and fresh produce operations. Not a cheap option by any means as a method of control. The other option add some cctv to your hand wash areas so you can review compliance with your GMP programs.

 

Likewise totally understand the cost side of things as all manufacturers are under increasing cost pressures and changing goal posts but you do have to review any changes to your programs against overall business risk.