Types of Disposable Gloves (Are They Food Safe?)

Food Grade Gloves

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When it comes to handling food, there are many types of food safe disposable gloves on the market. Before you choose the right single-use glove, keep these considerations in mind:

What Are Food Safe Gloves?

All the gloves on our list are available in food-grade options, which means they are rated for safe food handling.

Powdered vs Powder-Free:

Powdered gloves contain a coating of corn starch inside the glove. This makes it easy to slide the glove on and off but also presents a contamination issue if the powder leaves a residue on equipment and food. Currently, powdered gloves are banned for medical-grade use. Many recommend only using powder-free gloves for foodservice to eliminate the risk that cornstarch powder will contaminate food.

Is Latex Safe?

All the gloves on our list are available in food-grade options, which means they are rated for safe food handling.Powdered gloves contain a coating of corn starch inside the glove. This makes it easy to slide the glove on and off but also presents a contamination issue if the powder leaves a residue on equipment and food. Currently, powdered gloves are banned for medical-grade use. Many recommend only using powder-free gloves for foodservice to eliminate the risk that cornstarch powder will contaminate food. Latex gloves have benefits , but they aren't safe for everyone. Those with a latex allergy can experience a serious reaction when exposed to latex. Check your state and local jurisdictions for specific legislation related to the use of latex gloves before using these in your business.

 

Nitrile glove prices are slowly stabilizing, but they have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Many regular users of nitrile gloves, such as your local dentist or medical center, have been forced to seek out alternatives such as polyethylene gloves or nitrile-vinyl blend gloves due to their relative cost advantages. Unfortunately, these alternatives do not provide the same protection as nitrile gloves. Nitrile offers the best protection to chemicals, oils, and acids out of the most popular materials used to manufacture disposable gloves. There are a few excellent articles on the internet that discuss the factors that you should consider when choosing the right disposable glove. We recommend Grainger's article.

Of course, the volatile gloves market has affected manufacturers, vendors, distributors, and end users alike. Manufacturers, for what has seemed like an eternity to distributors and end users, have been unable to meet market demand due to the shortage of raw materials and the increase in packaging costs caused by the pandemic. Freight costs have been notoriously unpredictable, too, all of which has resulted in demand far outpacing the supply of nitrile gloves.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of vinyl or nitrile gloves. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

If you're wondering how to purchase nitrile gloves without breaking the bank, we've got some ideas for you to consider:

1. Join a traditional Group Purchasing Organization (GPO). GPOs help members realize savings and efficiencies by aggregating purchasing volume and leveraging the power of the group to negotiate with vendors. GPOs can be vertical (industry-specific, such as healthcare) or horizontal (industry-agnostic). Not all GPOs operate the same way, so it's important you find one that works for you.
2. Do the work of a GPO on your own. Find similar businesses in your community that could also benefit from a reduction in their cost of nitrile gloves. You can create an thread, IM, or group to communicate. Order placement, delivery, and distribution to the members of the group must all be arranged by the members. 

While the two methods described above have been the incumbent solutions for small and medium-sized businesses looking to realize savings on their regular spend, their are some fundamental challenges with each:

Challenges With GPOs:

• Minimum spend requirements
• Restricted to products and services under contract 
• Inflexible shipping schedules
• Less control over quality assurance since items are under contract and selected for you. Horizontal GPOs probably don't have product expertise.
• Membership fees

Challenges With DIY Group Purchasing:

• Administrative burden 
• Usually limited in scale and scale is not necessarily good, as it creates more administrative burden
• Risk of other members not coming through as promised (prepayments help mitigate this)

Over the past few years, an innovative solution has taken off in emerging markets like China where price-conscious consumers, most of whom reside in rural areas, are able to buy their groceries and everyday needs with friends in their community in order to save money. Pinduoduo has pioneered the social e-commerce model, finding tremendous success and earning itself the title of fastest growing consumer internet company in the world.

 

Pinduoduo has pioneered social commerce in China, encouraging people to buy together to save money. It is publicly listed and valued at $152.7 billion at the time of writing.

 

At Mersi Distribution, we have kickstarted our own innovation to help small businesses and retail buyers realize huge savings on nitrile gloves. GroupBuy, by shopmersi.com, allows you to push a button and save up to 70% off the retail price of nitrile gloves. GroupBuy is the smartest way for businesses to buy exam grade nitrile gloves online:

• Push a button, sit back, and watch your savings go up as more businesses join the GroupBuy
• No minimum spend
• No fees, no signup required - takes a few seconds
• We handle distribution, shipping, everything A-Z
• Get paid up to 20% for referring others

Interested? Check out groupbuy to view a live GroupBuy. Enjoy your savings!

For more information, please visit 9 mil black nitrile gloves.