A little bit of good news from Sacramento – the repeal of AB 2130 which went into effect January 1st, 2014. This assembly bill mandated that any employee, including bartenders and tasting room staff, to wear gloves when handling edible ready-to-eat food including bar garnishes and cheese plates.
Local health departments couldn’t even come up with a way to enforce this bill, as there was language within it that granted exemptions for certain types of establishments. The real issue is that there has never been any evidence that wearing gloves actually lessens the exposure of guests to transferred illness. It is a little refreshing to see something like this get reeled back since the best practices in the kitchen or bar is and always has been – make your employee wash their hands before transferring from one task to another – dah!
It was also surprising that the plastic bag regulations were being layered at the same time as the glove requirement so the net gain for the environment was zero.
Emergency legislation known as AB 2130 has been introduced to repeal this requirement. The current requirement is in force until June 30th. Unless AB 2130 goes into effect that day – we will be stuck with this.
About the Author
Jean Hagan, Principal
Restaurant, Hospitality
Jean has owned, operated, and consulted in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years. During that time, she worked with a well-known national chain; owned a food and beverage company that operated multiple restaurants, bars, and event spaces in the Squaw Valley area; and became the president, CEO, CFO, and shareholder of one of the highest-grossing restaurants in California. Today, Jean is Principal and leads the Restaurant Operations Consulting practice at KROST. » Full Bio