Proprietary five-point testing regimen lowers risk of cross-contamination, enhances compliance
Following a five-year study revealing the widespread risk of contamination in the disposable glove industry, Eagle Protect has deployed a new industry standard for compliance - the Delta Zero quality verification program. The analysis and findings of their multi-year study, a collaboration with the B. Michaels Group, were presented at the 2022 International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) annual meeting, leading Eagle Protect to develop and launch a multi-layered glove quality verification process.
“In the effort to mitigate glove contamination risks to multiple industries and glove users, we’ve spent the last few years refining our Delta Zero verification process,” said Steve Ardagh, CEO of Eagle Protect. “It’s a proprietary, multi-layered, five-point testing process that ensures Eagle gloves strictly adhere to the industry’s highest level of safety and performance.”
Though most of the general public remains unaware, there are significant limitations within the FDA’s current food glove compliance requirements. The FDA’s own code for imported gloves and PPE equipment (FDA Title 21, Part 177) does not specifically require them to be intact, clean, or sanitary, nor are they subject to routine testing upon arrival. Furthermore, the current test report for imported products that do occur carries no expiry date to compare them to any previous testing. This loophole opens the door for manufacturers to alter raw materials, composition, and even their own quality assurance standards - greatly enhancing the possibility of mislabeled and fraudulent products from unscrupulous industry suppliers.
The industry commonly refers to this lack of compliance standards as the “Glove Safety Gap” - an issue that Eagle Protect felt necessary to address head-on. Knowing that the general public expects disposable gloves and other PPE products to be clean, sanitary, and intact, the company responded with direct action. Eagle Protect adheres to a strict supplier code of conduct, which encourages independent third-party auditing and follows a single-source model. Through a recent partnership with Rfider, Eagle also added supply chain traceability for its product lines.