Disposable Food Prep Gloves: Six Tips to Help You Prepare Food Safely

Whether you’re just getting started in the kitchen or you’re a seasoned pro, chances are you’ve probably never encountered a situation quite like the one that presents itself when you don’t have enough disposable food prep gloves. It can be frustrating to know that there are times when you need to postpone cooking, or even go without food for the day because your hands haven’t been clean enough and they make it impossible to ensure that everything is as safe as possible. That’s where these tips come into play! Read on to learn more about how to keep your hands safe while preparing food.

Assess the situation

Before you rush out and buy a case of disposable food prep gloves, you’ll want to know exactly why you need them in the first place. There are many reasons why you might find your hands aren’t clean enough to safely handle raw meat or fish. You could have used your hands to handle halogen oven elements, you could have been handling raw chicken, or you could have been in the midst of a particularly messy cleaning session. In each of these cases, you’ll need to disinfect your hands using an alcohol-based sanitizer. That means that you can’t use your regular kitchen gloves while you’re doing it.

Know your kitchen well

Safety in the kitchen comes down to one essential thing: knowing where everything is and how things work. If you don’t feel confident in your ability to find certain items in your kitchen, you might not be able to keep yourself safe while you’re there. That’s why it’s so important to familiarize yourself with the layout of your kitchen. Take the time to go from top to bottom and side to side, and make note of where items are located. You’ll also want to take note of the state of your own hands and their cleanliness. If you find that you have to handle raw meat or fish, a sharp knife, an oven element, or even just your hands after handling dirty dishes, you’ll need to assess the situation and decide on your own if you’re prepared to handle it safely.

Clean your hands thoroughly

There will be times when you need to clean your hands thoroughly, but you won’t be able to do so in your kitchen sink. In those cases, you’ll want to use a bowl or even a large bowl of water to clean your hands and then disinfect afterward. Make sure that your hands and wrists are completely submerged in the water. Then, use a hand sanitizer or dishwashing liquid to clean your hands, wrists, and forearms. When you’re done, rinse your hands with clean water and disinfect them using an alcohol-based sanitizer that is suitable for use on food. Make sure to get between your fingers and the pads of your hands by swiping the sanitizer across your palms as well.

Use a disposable food prep glove for handling raw meat and fish

The only safe way to handle raw meat or fish is to use disposable food prep gloves. These gloves are designed to protect from bacteria and germs on raw meat, fish, and poultry. When handling raw meat and fish, you should always wear disposable food prep gloves. These gloves are designed to protect you from bacteria and germs that are present on raw meat and fish. It’s also a good idea to handle fish and meat items with paper towels, to quickly clean your hands and forearms.

Use an oven mitt to protect your hands from heat

While you shouldn’t use regular kitchen gloves while handling raw meat or fish, you should protect your hands from heat with an oven mitt. You should not ever touch a hot pan or item with your bare hands, as this makes them more likely to burn and cause injury. Instead, use an oven mitt to protect your hands from heat, or use a kitchen towel to quickly clean your hands off after handling hot items.

Use a dish drying towel to dry your hands after washing up

You shouldn’t ever wash your hands with water that hasn’t been sanitized, but if you have to, you need to do it quickly. That means that you can’t use the sink or any other running water point. Instead, you’ll need to find a dish drying towel and dampen it with water. You can then use this towel to quickly clean your hands before washing them with sanitized water. Once your hands have been disinfected and you’ve wiped them dry, you’ll need to keep them clean. That means that you can’t use them to touch your face or touch any other surfaces while they’re still wet. That’s when you’ll need to use a kitchen towel to dry your hands off.

Summing up

To keep your hands safe while preparing food, you’ll need to assess the situation, know your kitchen well, clean your hands thoroughly, use a disposable food prep glove for handling raw meat and fish, and use an oven mitt to protect your hands from heat, use a dish drying towel to dry your hands after washing up and keep your hands clean.