Exam Grade vs General Purpose Gloves

Exam Grade Gloves:

Examination or Medical-grade gloves differ from Industrial grade gloves in that they are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and are accepted for use by doctors, dentists, labs, or any other application requiring a specific barrier to blood or infectious agents. These gloves are non-surgical, non-sterile, and are regulated by stringent FDA requirements requiring specific production and quality control standards (detailed in FDA 510(k) Class II Medical Device Listing).

General Purpose Gloves:

General Purpose gloves are accepted (but not “approved” or “certified”) for use in General Purpose, industrial or any other application that does not require a specific barrier to blood or infectious agents. This is the most common glove found in the marketplace and popular uses include General Purpose, packaging, automotive, painting and health & beauty.

General Purpose gloves are, in fact, exam grade gloves that do not undergo FDA mandated quality control tests (e.g. FDA water leak testing). Our gloves are manufactured as medical grade, yet do not undergo the final steps of the FDA testing process. This gives Don the Glove a near-exam level of quality. What differentiates the gloves is a higher “AQL” (Acceptable Quality Level - FDA benchmark for rejection rates) than “B” or “C” grade gloves.

Don the Glove offers gloves with an AQL of 2.5% - 4.0%, meaning a medical grade rejection rate of only 2 – 4 gloves per 100.