When should gloves be changed during food preparation?

Study for the Certified Professional Food Manager Exam. Utilize flashcards and multiple-choice questions with hints and explanations. Prepare effectively for your certification!

Changing gloves during food preparation is crucial for maintaining food safety and preventing cross-contamination. The best practice is to change gloves when switching tasks or after handling raw food. This is because different tasks may involve different types of food, and using the same gloves poses a risk of transferring harmful bacteria or allergens from raw food to ready-to-eat items.

For example, if a food handler uses the same gloves to perform both tasks—handling raw chicken and then preparing a salad—there’s a high risk of contaminating the salad with pathogens from the raw chicken. By changing gloves after handling raw food or switching tasks, you help ensure that the food served is safe for consumption and that cross-contamination is minimized.

Other options suggest less effective practices. Changing gloves only at the end of the shift could allow harmful microorganisms to multiply on the gloves throughout the day. Only changing them when they feel uncomfortable or when they are visibly dirty overlooks significant opportunities for contamination prevention. Proper glove use is a fundamental aspect of food safety that every food handler must adhere to diligently.

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