Mun Australia is seeing the food and beverage industry slowly start to migrate away from vinyl gloves and the company is encouraging the move.
When it comes to the use of gloves in the food and beverage industry there is no one size fits all approach and as a result no two manufacturers or producers necessarily use the same gloves.
The same is true for many personal protective equipment (PPE) products, but as with any other area in the food and beverage industry, innovation and learnings inform changes from within.
According to Mun Australia marketing manager, Andrew Teng, when Mun Global first moved into the food and beverage industry, after decades supplying PPE for the health care sector, there was a large reliance on vinyl gloves.
“They were very widespread in their use,” he said.
“So even though you have this protective layer that you think is going to be a barrier between your hand and whatever you’re interacting with.”
Teng said the gloves weren’t the best option when it came to the protection needed within the food and beverage industry, particularly in comparison to other options already available on the market.
“What we’ve tried to do is leverage what has been learnt in the health care industry and look to use those learnings and that education in the food industry,” he said.
“We have been pushing the message of better protection and better health and safety into the food industry.”
Mun Australia is currently focusing on the food processing sector, before looking into other areas including POS, and have already implemented its learnings to better supply the industry.
“We have many customers in meat production, fruit and vegetables, and a lot of them are working in those environments where they run conveyor belts, doing quality control, or are on the processing floor for meat and we provide that extra barrier of protection when they are breaking down a carcass, for example,” said Teng.
Teng added that Mun Australia has already cultivated great company relationships across its 21 years in Australia and this trend was already continuing with the food and beverage industry.
“We have some great food distributor partners and customers in terms of national companies in Australia,” he said.
“We are hoping that we can spread this message further and promote Mun Australia as not just another consumable company but one that has high quality products and is looking to elevate the protection and safety in the industry.”
Teng said they have received glowing feedback from customers, especially those in the meat processing sector, for what the nitrile gloves were providing.
“There’s been some good feedback in terms of health and safety but also in terms of general use,” he said.
“Vinyl gloves can be a bit tougher and looser in fit so the gloves we provide are nitrile which is a more elastic and tighter fit and because of that elasticity it’s also more comfortable to use.
“You don’t get what’s called hand fatigue from the rubbing and toughness of other materials so in that respect there are added benefits.”
Mun Australia’s gloves are also all food safe, and HACCP certified.
“There are a lot of different standards and regulations that our gloves abide by and have passed and a lot of that comes from our heritage in the health care space,” said Teng.
Teng added that a big part of Mun Australia’s current push into the food industry was to help educate stakeholders and decision makers on the benefits of migrating to nitrile gloves.
“Some are shocked when they find out about the vinyl story and are astounded by the risks associated and if they have a low appetite for that then they are more than happy to move across,” he said.
“In the past there also used to be a bit of a price gap between vinyl and nitrile which created some hesitation in moving across but I think once that message percolates and continues to be told then companies do come around and see the advantages.”
Teng said Mun Australia was confident that as more was taught about the benefits of nitrile gloves the more manufacturers and producers will want to switch.