Global glove and PPE supplier Eagle Protect has released the final results of the company’s multi-year microbial analysis of potential pathogenic glove contamination. The tests confirmed human fecal indicators on 50 percent of new and unused gloves, together with strains of Bacillus cereus and other detected food-borne pathogens including B. anthracis, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridioides difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
The final data of what has been described as the longest running and most intensive study of disposable gloves and their implications to health and food-handling sectors, was recently presented at the International Association of Food Protection’s (IAFP) annual meeting by leading microbiologist Barry Michaels. In all, 2,800 new and unused U.S. glove imports from 26 different brands were independently tested. Their analysis identified over 250 different viable microbial species on both the interior and exterior glove surfaces.