It is important to remember hand protection when cutting and deboning meat.  Before choosing a glove, the employer needs to do a hazard assessment to ensure that the proper glove is used to protect employees from hand cut hazards. 

Traditionally mesh or chain style gloves have been worn when using knives to cut and debone meat.  Newer technology has provided lighter weight cut resistant Kevlar® gloves which also provide a good measure of protection from knife cuts.  It should be noted that the cut resistant gloves provide cut protection, not stick or stab protection, as they are only intended to prevent severe cuts, lacerations or abrasions. 

As with cut-resistant chain- or mesh-style gloves, gloves made with Kevlar® or similar cut-resistant materials should not be worn when using meat cutting bandsaws and other moving equipment that could snag or catch the gloves and pull them in.  Manufactures of Kevlar-style cut- resistant gloves attach a warning label to the glove so that they will not be confused with regular cotton work gloves.  The concern with using Kevlar® or similar cut-resistant fiber gloves near moving equipment such as saws is that the Kevlar® fibers may catch in the equipment rather than cleanly being cut, thus pulling the flesh from the operators hands.

Related PPE rules:

WAC 296-800-16005   Do a hazard assessment for PPE

WAC 296-800-16010   Document your hazard assessment for PPE

WAC 296-800-16015   Select appropriate PPE for your employees

WAC 296-800-16020   Provide PPE to your employees

WAC 296-800-16025   Train your employees to use PPE

WAC 296-800-16030   Retrain employees to use PPE, if necessary

WAC 296-800-16035   Document PPE training

WAC 296-800-16040   Require your employees to use necessary PPE on the job

WAC 296-800-16045   Keep PPE in safe and good condition

WAC 296-800-16065  Make sure your employees use appropriate hand protection