Food Safety Compliance: protection of consumer health

For the food industry, it is essential to comply with hygiene and health requirements during all stages of food production; employees must be duly trained in food handling and making use of appropriate PPE conforming to the applicable standards in order to prevent contamination,including Food Safety Compliance.       

The Safety Systems Hand Protection division, which has always been attentive to the quality and safety of its products, has obtained the Food Safety Compliance certification for nine models of gloves for contact with food.

Food-safe gloves: what are the risks?

In the food industry, gloves generally come under the category of MOCA (Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food). This is the reason why it is essential that their use be regulated by specific standards that guarantee safety and suitability for contact with food. The main regulations in this area are:

• Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006, on good manufacturing practices for materials and articles intended to come into contact with food
• Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004, on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food

The use of unsuitable gloves that lack the necessary certificates and/or compliance certification can pose various risks, including:

• Transfer of dangerous substances to food, resulting in contamination
• Alteration of the chemical composition of food
• Impairment of organoleptic properties, such as taste, smell or colour

Consequences of contamination or alteration can be serious, with a direct impact on the health of end consumers. Possible effects include the toxicity caused by the migration of harmful substances, the transmission of viruses and bacteria, as well as the introduction of allergens, which is particularly risky for sensitive and allergic individuals. For this reason, it is essential to choose gloves that comply with MOCA regulations, so as to guarantee the highest standards of safety, hygiene and quality throughout the food supply chain.

Food Safety Compliance for gloves: effective quality and safety control

To ensure that food is handled in accordance with the highest safety standards, it is essential that food-safe gloves be used.

Safety Systems Hand Protection has conducted specific tests to obtain the Food Safety Compliance certification according to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.

Tests and results

The gloves were subjected to migration tests, designed to verify the possible transfer of chemical substances from the material to the food. In particular, a global migration test was performed to assess the total amount of substances released in contact with food.

The tests were carried out using food simulants, i.e., liquids used to mimic the extraction behaviour of different types of food, under conditions of temperature and duration similar to those of actual use.

The simulants used included:

• Distilled water, or water of equivalent quality (Simulant A – for aqueous foods)
• 3% acetic acid solution (Simulant B – for acidic foods)
• 15% ethanol  (Simulant A – for alcoholic beverages)
• 95% ethanol / isopentane  (Simulant D – for oily and fatty foods, substitute for vegetable oil)

Thanks to the favourable outcome of the tests, all glove models tested obtained the Food Safety Compliance certification, attesting their suitability for contact with:

• Aqueous foods
• Alcoholic foods
• Acidic foods
• Fatty foods

Safety Systems Hand Protection Food Safety Compliance models

At present, the SSHP brand glove models that have successfully passed the compliance tests for use in the food industry include:

Choosing compliance-certified gloves means protecting food safety and consumer health. The Lanzi Group, with its Safety Systems Hand Protection brand, is constantly committed to ensuring that its protective equipment meets the highest quality and reliability standards.

To discover our full range of gloves, visit our website Safety Systems Hand Protection or write to marketing@lanzigroup.com.