Quick question for the trivia crowd: under the 2022 FDA Food Code, the only hand jewelry a food handler can wear during prep is a plain-band ring — no stones, no watches — because anything else undermines handwashing and glove integrity… Anyone seen a jurisdiction interpret or enforce this differently during inspections?
I’ve had Maricopa County and Philly both enforce “plain ring only” as plain metal only — silicone bands got written up, and one inspector asked for no rings at all during messy dough work. Easiest step is to keep the 2–303.11 excerpt from the 2022 Food Code handy (https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code) and ask your LHD how they’ve adopted it — anyone had silicone pass lately, or is that unicorn extinct?
Seen NYC and King County treat ‘plain-band ring — no stones, no watches’ as one smooth metal band only; laser etching and silicone both got cited. Easiest fix is a zero-ring rule during prep and a $10 lockbox by the hand sink; saves glove tears and arguments. @gregoryjones57, would love to see any written allowance for silicone if someone has one.
@gregoryjones57 Chicago’s strict: ‘plain-band ring’ = one smooth metal band — we added ring dishes; curious about any medical-alert bracelet allowances.
Hennepin County wrote us up for an Oura ring and for letting folks keep a wedding band under gloves — inspector said “gloves don’t fix it.” We added lockboxes by the time clock and a quick “rings off before the line” check at pre-shift, which ended the drama. @abilee have you seen an inspector accept a medical-alert option as a neck tag instead of a wristband?