When must gloves be changed while preparing food?

Gloves must be changed while preparing food to ensure food safety and prevent cross-contamination. Specifically, they should be changed when switching tasks—such as moving from handling raw meat to preparing ready-to-eat foods—since this helps to avoid transferring harmful bacteria. Additionally, gloves should be discarded if they become contaminated during the food preparation process, such as when they touch something unintentional, like a surface that is not clean or other foods. There is also a timeframe after which gloves should be changed to maintain hygiene, although this may not be strictly enforced in all practices.

Changing gloves at the end of the day is not sufficient, as it does not address the risks posed during food handling throughout the day. Moreover, a set time like every 30 minutes is not a universal requirement, as the need for glove changes is context-dependent. Lastly, only changing gloves if they are visibly dirty ignores the fact that gloves can still carry pathogens even if they appear clean, making it crucial to change them more strategically than just based on their appearance. Thus, the proper protocol involves changing gloves whenever necessary to ensure a safe food preparation environment.