When I inspected school kitchens, they were usually the cleanest and best maintained of all the places I inpected, including fast food and other chain restaurants.

Confusion over glove use, was a problem at schools and almost all of the restaurants and other retail food establishments I inspected. Therefore, I thought that the article that mentioned a norovirus outbreak attributed bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food was interesting.

The schools I inspected wanted their cafeteria staff to wear gloves when it really wasn't necessary, such as when they were at the serving line and using spoons and ladles to serve food. Basically, they saw glove use as a public relations issue.

While doing an in-service at one school where many questions came up about glove use, I finally told the managers and other staff, "If you want to go above and beyond the law that's your choice. You risk confusing your employees and having them improperly use gloves or not use them at all when needed, however." I got blank stares in response.