Food-safe gloves are one of those supplies that kitchens order without much thought — until something goes wrong. Using the wrong glove material can cause allergic reactions in staff, fail to provide adequate protection, or create contamination risks you weren't expecting.
Here's a practical breakdown of the three main glove types used in NZ hospitality kitchens, and when to use which.
Nitrile Gloves
Nitrile is the current standard for most food-service environments in NZ. It's a synthetic rubber that provides good chemical resistance, reasonable puncture resistance, and — critically — contains no latex proteins.
Key properties:
- Latex-free — no risk of latex allergy reactions, which are more common than most people assume
- Durable — holds up better than vinyl under sustained use, less likely to tear mid-task
- Chemical resistant — handles cleaning chemicals, oils, and acids better than latex or vinyl
- Good tactile sensitivity — thinner nitrile gloves give reasonable feel for food prep tasks
- Blue or purple colour — the blue/purple colour is intentional, making any glove fragments visible in food
Nitrile is suitable for most food prep tasks, deli work, and general kitchen use. It's also what you want when staff are handling both food and cleaning products on the same shift.
Vinyl Gloves
Vinyl gloves are lower cost than nitrile but also lower performance. They're made from PVC and are looser-fitting with less elasticity.
- Cost-effective — significantly cheaper per glove than nitrile
- Latex-free — safe for latex-sensitive staff
- Lower barrier protection — more porous than nitrile, not suitable for chemical handling
- Less durable — more prone to tearing, especially with sustained or high-dexterity tasks
- Looser fit — less tactile feedback, can be awkward for precision food prep
Vinyl works well for short-duration, low-risk tasks: serving, light food handling, front-of-house work. It's not the right choice for extended kitchen prep, raw meat handling, or any task involving chemicals.
Latex Gloves
Natural rubber latex gloves offer excellent fit, elasticity, and tactile sensitivity. However, their use in commercial kitchens has declined significantly in NZ for one reason: latex allergy.
- Excellent fit and dexterity — the standard against which other gloves are measured
- Biodegradable — natural rubber breaks down; nitrile does not
- Allergy risk — latex proteins can cause reactions ranging from contact dermatitis to anaphylaxis in sensitised individuals, in both staff and customers
- Not suitable if any staff or customers have latex sensitivity
Given the allergy risk, most NZ food businesses have moved away from latex entirely. If you have any uncertainty about staff or customer latex sensitivity, don't use them.
Powdered vs Powder-Free
Avoid powdered gloves in food environments entirely. The powder (usually cornstarch) was used historically to make gloves easier to don, but it carries latex proteins in latex gloves and creates contamination risk in food. Powder-free is the standard for food service and is what Vito Supply stocks.
Glove Sizing
Gloves that are too large bunch up and reduce grip. Gloves that are too small fatigue hands quickly and tear more easily. Most commercial gloves come in Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large. A rough guide:
- Small — fits palm widths up to around 8cm
- Medium — 8–9cm palm width, the most commonly stocked size
- Large — 9–10cm palm width
- Extra Large — 10cm+ palm width
For kitchens with a varied team, stock both medium and large as a minimum. Running out of the right size leads to staff using the wrong size, which creates problems.
How Many to Order
Commercial gloves are typically sold in boxes of 100 (50 pairs) or cartons of 1000. For a standard cafe kitchen going through 2–3 box changes per cook per shift, a box of 100 lasts roughly one to two days for a single staff member doing prep.
Calculate based on your number of food-handling staff and how frequently glove changes are occurring (they should be changed between tasks, after breaks, and any time there's a contamination risk). Most NZ hospitality kitchens underestimate usage and run short.
NZ Food Safety Requirements
The NZ Food Act 2014 and its supporting regulations don't mandate glove use for all food handling, but they do require that food businesses prevent contamination. Gloves are one accepted control measure, particularly for ready-to-eat food that won't undergo further cooking.
Your Food Control Plan (FCP) or National Programme will specify your obligations. If you're uncertain, your local council EHO can clarify what's required for your specific operation.