SACARMENTO – California passed a law that requires foodservice workers to wear gloves or use utensils when handling food, but some restaurants are refusing to comply, the Associated Press reports. The state law went into effect in January, with enforcement coming in July.

Forty-one states have some sort of prohibition on bare hands connecting with food at restaurants and other foodservice establishments. With restaurateurs lobbying for a reversal, state lawmakers are looking into changing the law before health inspectors are able to levy fines for violations in three months. Assemblyman Richard Pan has introduced a bill that would negate the new rules and instigate another look at the issue.

“It's not about whether you wear gloves or not,” said Pan. “It's about how clean the surfaces (touching food) are. We need to have the conversation go back to, ‘This is about food safety.’”

Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend not having bare hands come in contact with food served in restaurants. In Wyoming, Oregon, Nebraska, Montana, Minnesota and Louisiana, food code regulations do not prohibit bare hands from food contact. South Carolina legislators are debating banning bare-hand contact, while Tennessee will have one in place by next year.