Gloves, wraps, and containers for a small food counter

A store that prepares or handles any unpackaged food has a supplies list that is not optional. Gloves, film, foil, deli sheets, containers and labels are the physical side of food safety, and the rules about them are set by your local health authority working from the FDA Food Code.

Getting the list right is mostly about sizes and about which grade of product is actually food-contact rated.

What does "food-contact" actually mean on a box?

That the material is intended and manufactured for direct contact with food. It is not a marketing word. Film, containers, gloves and papers all come in food-contact and non-food-contact grades, and the cheaper industrial version of any of them is not a substitute.

Check the box rather than the shelf label, and keep the packaging until the stock is used. That is where the designation is printed, and an inspector's question is easier to answer with the box than without it.

What gloves does a counter need?

Single-use, food-contact rated, in at least two sizes so they actually fit the people wearing them. A glove that is too large is worse than no glove because it drags through product, and a glove too small tears.

Material matters where allergies are a consideration. Several materials are in common use and your local requirements may address which. Stock the boxes where they are used rather than in a cupboard, because a glove box in the back room is a glove box nobody opens.

Do gloves replace handwashing?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding at a small counter. Gloves are worn over clean hands and changed between tasks; hands are washed before putting them on and after taking them off.

A person wearing the same gloves for an hour across several tasks is carrying contamination around the counter with more confidence than bare hands would. Change points — between raw and ready-to-eat, after handling money, after touching a face or a phone — are the part to train.

What film, foil and paper are needed?

Cling film for wrapping, foil for hot items, deli sheets for handling, and bags or containers for take-away. Each in one or two sizes that suit what you actually sell rather than a general range.

Dispensers matter more than people expect. Film pulled off a roll by hand wastes material and ends up touching surfaces it should not; a cutter box or a wall dispenser solves both.

What about containers?

Sized to the portion and rated for the temperature. Hot food in a container not rated for it deforms, leaks and can transfer material into the food. Cold and ambient containers are cheaper and are not interchangeable.

Lids again need to match, and again the mismatch happens when somebody reorders one and not the other. Write the specification down, in the same place as the cup and lid specification.

What has to be labelled?

Whatever your local rules require, which commonly includes what it is, when it was made or packed, and allergen information where applicable. Requirements differ meaningfully by jurisdiction and by what you sell.

Practically: a label printer or a roll of labels and a marker at the prep area, used consistently. Labelling that depends on remembering is labelling that happens on quiet days only. Supplies sit in the general store supplies range.

What is the review that catches problems?

A quarterly look at the actual supplies in use against the list you intended. Stores drift: a cheaper film gets ordered, a glove size disappears, somebody starts using a non-rated container because the rated one ran out.

The last of those is the one to catch, and it is prevented by holding a sensible buffer of the rated items rather than by a rule about substitution.