Even before the pandemic raised hygiene consciousness, many food service establishments were regular users of disposable gloves.
Avoiding cross-contamination and keeping bacteria at bay are always important considerations for food trucks, restaurants, commercial kitchens, and the like. Protecting customers is central to protecting the business from liability.
With the arrival of COVID-19, hygiene awareness soared. Even as food establishments fought to stay open, face masks and gloves became essential gear.
COVID is not just a memory
The pandemic, of course, has not gone away, despite not being in the news as often. Because testing is down, the number of cases is not being reported as frequently as it was.
The food service industry operates under notoriously thin margins and looks for value everywhere it can be found. Disposable gloves that deliver great value are part of any conversation regarding what a food service establishment needs.
AIC’s top 3 food service gloves fall into the categories of good, better, and best.
The good, the better, and the best
GOOD: A basic lightweight glove is always appreciated. If you’re looking for versatility at a great price, try X3 Industrial Clear Stretch Hybrid Poly Gloves. More form-fitting than regular polyethylene, they deliver good comfort while remaining loose enough to make frequent glove changes easy. They come 200 per box, 10 boxes per case, which is a great selling point (more bang for the buck).
BETTER: For an all-purpose glove at a great price, it’s hard to beat X3 Industrial Clear Vinyl Gloves. The user gets dependable hygiene maintenance as well as barrier protection against cleaning solutions and other non-hazardous materials. Because they contain no latex proteins, there are no worries about allergic reactions. This glove is one of AIC’s top sellers—and for good reason.
BEST: When it comes to food service, rarely does a customer need a glove thicker than 3 mils (although Gloveworks Industrial Black Nitrile and the Gloveworks Raised Diamond Texture suite are great for heavy-duty tasks). Nitrile, though, always performs exceptionally well. X3 Industrial Black Nitrile is a great example of an affordable glove with added strength (3x the puncture resistance of latex) and comfort. Black also looks professional for front-of-the-house use.
A bright future in food for nitrile
In a recent correspondence, one of our distributor partners who serves food establishments throughout central Ohio said her customers “have been happy with the style/value/price BX3 model. I have decided to have that as our main glove we stock. I’m hoping we can keep a consistent supply in house for our customers.”
BX3 is an important glove for AIC and will continue to be central to our nitrile offerings for some time. There is also a blue counterpart, X3, that it can pair with for task-specific use to guard against cross-contamination.
