cawacko
Well-known member
I told my local bar I wasn't coming in anymore until the bartenders started wearing gloves... yeah right! WTF? Figures a guy named Dick Pan would come up with something like this.
Chefs, bartenders give finger to new glove law
The gloves are coming off for San Francisco restaurant and bar workers who vehemently oppose a new state law that requires a latex barrier between them and the food they handle.
The new, controversial law requires all industry workers to wear gloves while working with ready-to-eat foods — including sushi chefs and bartenders who sometimes handle fresh ingredients to garnish drinks.
Introduced by California Assemblyman Richard Pan, the law went into effect with little debate and even less notification after quietly passing in January.
Since then, legions of industry workers who are slowly becoming aware of the requirement have started to organize and give the finger, so to speak, to the glove law. A six-month grace period before the health department must begin issuing citations for noncompliance could give them just enough time to muster a strong movement against it.
“This law just doesn’t make any sense on so many levels,” said Iso Rabins, founder and chef at ForageSF, who is meeting with local officials and rallying support to amend the rule to apply only to restaurants with 25 or more locations.
Beyond the huge environmental impact, extra cost to small businesses and lack of studies behind the efficacy of donning latex to prevent disease, “wearing gloves changes the way food is created,” Rabins said. “It’s hard to season a dish with gloves, it’s hard to feel the food. And it’s just another thing that restaurants can get dinged with.”
To garner support for anti-glovers, Rabins launched a petition on Change.org, arguing that latex “belongs in the bedroom and not the kitchen.” Since going up late Thursday evening, the petition has signed on more than 1,350 passionate supporters who would like to trash the rule.
Another petition started last month by Alameda resident Josh Miller is pushing to only exempt bartenders from the law. That petition has gained more than 11,250 supporters and is looking for about 4,000 more.
Opposing reasons include the mountains of waste that will be created daily by thousands of workers changing gloves every few hours, as the rule requires.
Some opponents of the law claim that people with latex allergies will be negatively affected. Some even warned of potential lawsuits that could come from having food handled by a worker wearing latex that causes an allergic reaction in a customer.
See slideshow for other concerns.
Meanwhile, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association is on a mission to educate restaurants about applying for exemptions to the rule — an onerous process that requires restaurants to adhere to strict training requirements and written guidelines.
The association’s new executive director, Gwyneth Borden, made it clear that she’s not a fan of the law and is looking into what the organization can do to change it.
The bottom line, she said, is that gloves provide a false sense of security. “They don't actually tackle the real problem of ensuring good food safety practices among employees,” she said. “Gloves are not necessarily any cleaner than bare hands.”
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2014/02/california-glove-law-ban-san-francisco.html
Chefs, bartenders give finger to new glove law
The gloves are coming off for San Francisco restaurant and bar workers who vehemently oppose a new state law that requires a latex barrier between them and the food they handle.
The new, controversial law requires all industry workers to wear gloves while working with ready-to-eat foods — including sushi chefs and bartenders who sometimes handle fresh ingredients to garnish drinks.
Introduced by California Assemblyman Richard Pan, the law went into effect with little debate and even less notification after quietly passing in January.
Since then, legions of industry workers who are slowly becoming aware of the requirement have started to organize and give the finger, so to speak, to the glove law. A six-month grace period before the health department must begin issuing citations for noncompliance could give them just enough time to muster a strong movement against it.
“This law just doesn’t make any sense on so many levels,” said Iso Rabins, founder and chef at ForageSF, who is meeting with local officials and rallying support to amend the rule to apply only to restaurants with 25 or more locations.
Beyond the huge environmental impact, extra cost to small businesses and lack of studies behind the efficacy of donning latex to prevent disease, “wearing gloves changes the way food is created,” Rabins said. “It’s hard to season a dish with gloves, it’s hard to feel the food. And it’s just another thing that restaurants can get dinged with.”
To garner support for anti-glovers, Rabins launched a petition on Change.org, arguing that latex “belongs in the bedroom and not the kitchen.” Since going up late Thursday evening, the petition has signed on more than 1,350 passionate supporters who would like to trash the rule.
Another petition started last month by Alameda resident Josh Miller is pushing to only exempt bartenders from the law. That petition has gained more than 11,250 supporters and is looking for about 4,000 more.
Opposing reasons include the mountains of waste that will be created daily by thousands of workers changing gloves every few hours, as the rule requires.
Some opponents of the law claim that people with latex allergies will be negatively affected. Some even warned of potential lawsuits that could come from having food handled by a worker wearing latex that causes an allergic reaction in a customer.
See slideshow for other concerns.
Meanwhile, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association is on a mission to educate restaurants about applying for exemptions to the rule — an onerous process that requires restaurants to adhere to strict training requirements and written guidelines.
The association’s new executive director, Gwyneth Borden, made it clear that she’s not a fan of the law and is looking into what the organization can do to change it.
The bottom line, she said, is that gloves provide a false sense of security. “They don't actually tackle the real problem of ensuring good food safety practices among employees,” she said. “Gloves are not necessarily any cleaner than bare hands.”
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2014/02/california-glove-law-ban-san-francisco.html
