Background
A leading nationwide manufacturer and supplier of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods prides itself on maintaining the highest food safety standards. As part of their routine supplier verification program, they decided to test various food contact surfaces (FCS) for potential contamination risks—including their disposable gloves.
The Challenge: Unexpected Contamination Risks
During internal food safety testing, the results of microbial analysis of their current food-handling gloves were alarming:
- Pathogens Detected – The gloves tested positive for foodborne pathogens, posing severe risks to RTE food products.
- Unverified Glove Sanitation – Their gloves had never previously been tested for microbial contamination. FDA compliance for food handling only includes chemical content and migration testing—bioburden and pathogen identification standards are not required to be tested.
"Food grade gloves are not inspected, and they're not even tested for microbial contamination or defects." - Dr. Darin Detwiler
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Increased Risk Exposure – As an RTE food manufacturer, any contamination in their process could lead to a costly recall, regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage.
This discovery highlighted a critical gap in their HACCP plan—while every other aspect of their food safety system was verified, their disposable gloves were an uncontrolled risk.
The Solution: Eagle Protect's Delta Zero™ Verified Gloves
Realizing the dangers of unverified gloves, they sought a solution aligned with their rigorous food safety standards. After evaluating several alternative suppliers, they chose Eagle Protect’s Delta Zero™ (DZ) verified gloves due to:
- Independent Lot Testing – Every lot is tested and verified against microbial contamination, harmful chemicals, physical integrity and performance.
- Pathogen-Free Assurance – Gloves tested for bioburden count and pathogen identification standards.
- Improved Barrier Protection – Verified for superior raw material quality strength, reducing the risk of glove rips that expose food to contaminants and cross-contamination.
Conclusion: Strengthening Food Safety at the Last Point of Food Contact
This case study highlights a critical but often overlooked aspect of food safety: the verification of disposable gloves. This nationwide manufacturer and supplier of RTE foods took a proactive approach by testing their existing gloves, identifying an overlooked FCS contamination risk, and implementing Eagle Protect’s Delta Zero™ verified gloves as a proven solution to safeguard their products, brand and customers.
