The food industry is worth almost a whopping 2 trillion USD. The food industry is arguably one of the largest industries in the world because, after all, everyone needs to eat. However, problems can occur during the food processing process.
Food processing requires workers to wear gloves to handle the food so that safety and cleanliness are prioritized. However, problems can arise if workers aren’t using the right gloves. That’s why metal-detectable gloves are so important, especially if you want to ensure that your food products are as clean and high-quality as possible.
But what exactly are metal-detectable gloves, and how do they work? More importantly, why are they a good idea? Keep reading and learn more about what makes these gloves so special in the food business.
What You Need to Know About Metal-Detectable Gloves
While gloves are worn to protect food during processing, some gloves can actually do more harm than good. In the past, latex gloves were very popular in the food processing industry. This is because they would offer a smooth layer between the worker’s hands and the food they would be touching.
As a result, there would be little worry of contamination from the worker’s hands to the food. However, there are various problems that can result from the use of latex gloves. In particular, latex gloves are not as durable as you would think, especially those that are designed to be used only a single time.
Gloves like these can easily tear or snag while the worker is processing the food at hand. When this happens, little pieces of latex could end up caught in the food and because the latex piece is so small, it would be unlikely that anyone would even realize it was there. As a result, customers would end up with food with little flakes of latex in them.
The Details
This, of course, is not ideal and it could even result in legal trouble if a customer happened to swallow it. Vinyl gloves are not much better. They are infamous for being quite brittle compared to latex gloves and, as a result, pieces of vinyl can end up in the food as well.
Fortunately, a new contender has made itself known in recent years: metal-detectable gloves. These gloves are usually made out of nitrile and have the unique characteristic of being able to be detected by metal detection machines in food processing plants.
This, of course, is ideal. Even the smallest piece of a nitrile glove in a piece of food can be detected when it is run through a metal detection machine. That way, the risk of a piece of nitrile glove making it out of the facility on a piece of food would be very low.
Besides that, many nitrile gloves are bright blue. This makes it easy to see a stray piece of the glove that ends up in the food before it even has the chance to make it to the metal detection machine. But the benefits of these gloves don’t stop there.
The Other Benefits of Metal-Detectable Gloves
These nitrile gloves have certain benefits that no other type of glove has. For one, nitrile gloves are hypoallergenic. This is far more than what can be said about latex gloves. Many people happen to be allergic to latex and when they put on latex gloves, they can experience a wide range of symptoms.
Most commonly, the latex will irritate their skin until it is red and itchy and in some cases, it can even cause boils and rashes. This is not to mention that wearing these gloves when allergic to them is generally very uncomfortable and sometimes even unbearable. But a person with a latex allergy can wear nitrile gloves without any issues.
Besides that, nitrile gloves are generally very comfortable and easy to take on and off. This is not to mention that nitrile, as a material, is far stronger than latex and vinyl. While they are not invincible to tears and snags, they are far more resistant to them, so pieces of nitrile ending up in the food will be only a rare occurrence.
What You Need to Know
At the same time, these gloves do not compromise the worker’s dexterity. This is because nitrile gloves are not brittle or inflexible. Instead, they are very flexible and mold to your hand without being too constricted or too sticky.
This makes it easier to move your fingers inside the gloves and grasp food when necessary. This makes the entire food processing process much easier and less stressful than ever before. These gloves are even resistant to certain kinds of chemicals which is far more than what can be said about an average pair of latex or vinyl gloves.
And, of course, you can’t forget that nitrile gloves are surprisingly affordable, especially considering all the benefits you offer. You won’t have to spend an arm and a leg for them even if you buy an entire case or even several cases. Overall, these gloves are the ideal choice for the food processing industry.
All About Metal-Detectable Gloves
Metal-detectable gloves are a relatively new invention. They have already shown themselves to be very effective, especially when compared to other types of gloves in the food processing industry. These gloves are easily detectable by metal detection machines and more than that, these gloves are hypoallergenic and comfortable.
To learn more about these gloves, click here.
