The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for stringent hand hygiene to help prevent contamination. The food industry must also address the correct use and selection of gloves as a means of reducing cross-contamination. For a glove to effectively prevent the transmission of pathogens, it’s cleanliness, durability and barrier quality must be considered. Hi, I’m Steve Ardagh, CEO and Founder of specialist glove supplier Eagle Protect.

1 Why can single-use gloves be a food safety issue?

With over 20 years in the glove industry, I have witnessed an astonishing variation in sanitation, quality, and control in glove factories. I have visited factories manufacturing food and medical grade gloves reusing dirty “wash” water during production, and packing gloves in open-walled, filthy environments.

Having seen these unsanitary manufacturing and quality practices, we began to question whether these and other gloves could be clean, quality, and food safe.

2 How do you ensure your gloves are truly food safe?

Eagle has established independent quality control standards. In addition to conducting rigorous in-person and independent audit assessments for each of our suppliers, verifying product quality and manufacturing standards, we further verify a range of our glove quality and food safety standards by a third-party proprietary glove analysis.

3 Why is an independent analysis necessary if my gloves are FDA approved for food handling?

Glove factories supplying the U.S. food industry are not subjected to rigorous FDA monitoring or scrutiny, and few controls are required in relation to the reliability and consistency of raw material ingredients, manufacturing processes, cleanliness, and factory compliance.

In order to ensure manufacturing consistency, and that Eagle gloves adhere to the highest level of food safe performance, our independent glove analysis tests for cleanliness (microbial and fungal contaminants), chemicals and toxins, durability, and cross-contamination potential.

4 Have the results of the glove tests been surprising?

Yes! We conducted the microbial testing of 25 new and unused brands of single-use gloves to get an industry baseline. Results found pathogens specific to foodborne illnesses, food spoilage, and skin infections. These were linked to the use of polluted water sources; sewage (fecal pollution); and human and animal gut bacteria introduced into glove production environments.

These are gloves currently used in the US food and medical industries.

5 What Eagle nitrile gloves are tested? Why don’t you sell vinyl gloves anymore?

With all the scientific research highlighting the food safety and environmental issues of vinyl gloves, we could not, in good faith to our customers, continue selling these.

Our nitrile gloves, currently third-party tested, are intended for companies handling ready-to-eat foods. Cross-contamination prevention in this area is of utmost importance to our customers and the consumer, especially with the current pandemic.

In the food processing industry’s continuing quest to reduce foreign object contamination, detectable products are a critical tool in helping achieve success. Paul Gaertner, President of Detectapro Products, LLC, has been helping food processors work toward zero percent foreign object contamination for more than 17 years.

1 What products can be made metal detectable?

Virtually any product can be made to be metal detectable. Large upfront costs are incurred in the engineering and construction of the initial die. After the die is made, quantity of the product determines the price. Some products then become reality and others do not.

New products include: retractable markers, scrub pads, stop watches, key holes tags, aprons and more. Let us know if you need something, we’ll look into it for you.

2 How detectable are your products?

All of our products are 100% detectable when using metal detection and X-ray detection systems. The key in detecting our metal detectable products lies with the ratio of the aperture to the size of the product.

Every product is different and every detectable fragment size need is different. So, calibration is the key to successful detection.

3 Does BRC8 4.9.6.2 only refer to metal detectable pens?

No, it is not just about detectable pens. Although our pens are a large part of our business, all of our Detectapro Products are 100% detectable and comply with the language in the BRC 4.9.6.2 requirement regarding small parts.

Additionally, all of our products are molded without metal springs or other small parts.

Other items such as cable ties, markers, scrapers, knives, and key hole tags comply with section 4.9.6.2 and have no small parts.

4 Can your products prevent a recall?

Working with Detectapro will reduce your chances of hard plastic contaminating the final product.

While we cannot prevent a recall, using our 100% detectable products with properly calibrated detection systems will go a long way toward zero percent foreign object contamination.

5 Does Detectapro carry liability insurance?

Yes, we do carry liability insurance. Most of our products are made in the USA or in the UK and are produced in facilities where quality control is measured on every product produced.

When you reach for our products they work every time. The processing floor is no place for poorly manufactured products, so you cannot afford to have products in your facility that are inferior and for which the manufacturers do not have liability insurance.

As food safety testing continues to evolve, it has become increasingly important to ensure that your methods and technicians are providing you with reliable results. Participating in a proficiency program is a great way to build confidence in your methods and technicians. Cherney Microbiological Services, Ltd.’s Proficiency Manager, Ashley Erdman explains.

1 Why participate in a proficiency testing (PT) program?

Aside from meeting regulatory compliances, participation in PT is a GLP that ensures competency of your staff. PT programs allow comparison not only internally over time, but also immediately against technicians from other laboratories. These factors can help strengthen relationships with customers by showing commitment to quality and improvement.

2 What are the benefits of participating in an environmental PT program?

3 What is important when selecting a program?

The most important factor when selecting a program is ensuring it is fit for your purpose. Choose a program that allows the use of your internal methods and processes as they are, or as close to routine as possible. Other important factors include sample matrix, ease of processing, result presentation, program size, and provider accreditation and responsiveness.

4 What are the benefits of participating more than once a year?

More data is available for trending each time a facility participates, which provides a more robust trend analysis. To ensure competence, everyone performing testing in the facility should participate in PT. When efficiency is a concern, one option is to rotate technicians through rounds so all participate, but not at one time. If your provider rotates matrixes, participating more will ensure you receive multiple matrix types, increasing confidence in your results and processes.

5 What should I look at when conducting an unsatisfactory result investigation?

Check to ensure results were reported correctly. Refer to information within the report and the original instructions. Review the results to ensure no clerical errors occurred while entering data (incorrect values or transposing test results). Review sample storage and handling before, and during, sample processing to ensure the sample was not compromised or temperature abused. Ensure processes were followed correctly and all equipment was within calibration/specifications. If a root cause cannot be determined, reach out to your provider for assistance.

Editor’s Note: With the spread, and even knowledge, of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) changing on a daily basis, the facts and business advice of this column are based on what is known as of its writing.

With the COVID-19 situation continually evolving, it is difficult to provide concrete advice on managing your food industry business during the outbreak. But, based on questions we have received, we see two key points that continue to be applicable to this industry:

1. The first is whether there is any evidence that the virus is able to transmit via food. The short answer currently is that the virus is not being transmitted via food or water; this also was stated by FDA in its March 18 Briefing for Foods Stakeholders on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However we do know that, in some cases, infected individuals get diarrhea and the stool samples have the virus present. Thus, there is a possible fecal-oral transmission route. Keep in mind that the virus will infect a person if it comes into contact with nose, eyes, or mouth. So, if you are operating a food facility you should undertake a targeted clean if infected individuals are known to have been in your establishment. It appears that the virus can survive on a surface for a day or two. However, current data indicates that the virus is destroyed by bleach and hydrogen peroxide, so it does not appear to be resistant to the usual cleaning agents.

2. The second point is the impact of COVID-19 on your supply chain. Because of the unprecedented measures being taken in the US and globally to attempt to limit spread of the virus, there have been significant disruptions to supply chains around the world. This can be particularly critical if you have been using a sole-source supplier in an area of highest outbreak. The concern about the supply chain is significant for the food industry, particularly the hidden dangers of having to rush into sourcing from other places that you may not have time to fully assess; the difficulty in getting product from overextended suppliers; the lack of ingredients that come only from a single high-outbreak area; and even travel to inspect a provider’s facility or bring on a new supplier.

If you’ve not already done so, of high importance is reviewing your entire supply chain for availability of products, ingredients, and supplies, particularly those for which you have a sole-source supplier. As we’ve seen with consumer runs on items, even if you are fully stocked in a product or ingredient today, you don’t know if others are attempting to stock up or how long today’s varying state and global restrictions will last. And once the businesses and borders reopen, it will take time to get back up to speed and fill back orders.

No one could have predicted the coronavirus outbreak or all its impacts, and having to deal with this new type of health risk and find a new product or ingredient source virtually overnight is not only challenging, it is fraught with risks. If you do need to add a new supplier quickly, do as much investigation and assessment as possible with the time and personnel you have; make sure they can fulfill your needs, so you don’t end up with further shortages and have to find another additional supplier.

Because the situation is continually evolving, so too are the questions and advice. So TAG is providing daily updates throughout the outbreak, however long it should continue, on our COVID-19 web page (https://bit.ly/39aJODx) and daily e-newsletter.