Eliminating Contamination with Verified Clean Gloves
Company: Freya Farm
Industry: Cultivation and production
Location: Washington, US
Focus: Identify & eliminate product contamination introduced by processing tools
Why Eagle's Glove Analysis?
A range of Eagle gloves are third-party tested to ensure they are clean, safe and of high-quality.
Eagle products are single-sourced to guarantee manufacturing consistency - meaning you get the same product every single time.
Problem:
Freya Farm is a cannabis producer and processor in Washington. They are passionate about organic cannabis cultivation, growing high-grade and unique strains. Following a cannabis recall due to their products testing positive for the antimicrobial chemical o-Phenylphenol, the Freya team conducted full testing of all items which had come in contact with their recalled products. As a last resort, their single-use “food safe” gloves were tested and found to be the contaminant.
Handling products with contaminated gloves can transfer toxic compounds to the product—risking a recall.
Why Gloves Can Contaminate Products:
Although these gloves, sourced from a previous supplier, were FDA food compliant, just like the New Zealand market, glove factories supplying U.S. food industries are not subjected to rigorous ongoing FDA monitoring or scrutiny. Few controls are required in relation to the reliability and consistency of raw material ingredients, manufacturing processes, cleanliness and factory compliance.
This means there is opportunity for manufacturers to reduce costs by using cheap raw materials which lower glove durability, and may introduce toxic compounds which can transfer to glove users and products handled—potentially leading to a product recall.
o-Phenylphenol, responsible for Freya Farm’s cannabis recall, is listed by the OEHHAA as a compound known to cause cancer. It was unknowingly transferred to their product by using contaminated FDA food compliant disposable gloves.
Risks Of Single-use Glove Contamination To The Industry:
- Cost of recalled products
- Brand reputation due to recalls
- Possible dermal absorption of toxins to staff wearing gloves 8 hours / day
Mitigate The Risk Of Recalls:
Freya Farm immediately eliminated the contaminated glove issue by sourcing Eagle FineTOUGH and Sensitive nitrile gloves.
Eagle Protect’s proprietary third-party glove analysis, Delta Zero™, ensures a range of Eagle gloves are truly food safe and won’t contaminate products being handled. The analysis tests for:
- Cleanliness (microbial & fungal contaminants)
- Chemicals & toxins
- Durability & cross-contamination potential
Manufacturing consistency is essential to ensure gloves adhere to the highest level of food safety performance.
Conclusion:
Purchasing gloves, of no known origin or quality, is a potential business risk. To mitigate this, it is essential to purchase disposable gloves from established suppliers with known quality control measures in place.
The cost of a product recall is too high!
Does this case study resonate with your business?
Request a call with an Eagle Protect food safety disposable glove expert today!
