Texas Roadhouse & Olive Garden among restaurants mandating strict ‘one ring’ policy for diner safety

RESTAURANTS like Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden are among the many enforcing a strict attire policy.

The “one ring” policy is put in place for diner safety concerns, and is strictly enforced likewise.

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Diners benefit most from the strictly enforced policy Credit: Getty

Popular restaurants like Texas Roadhouse emphasize the policy’s importance at locations nationwide Credit: Alamy

The “one ring” policy refers to the jewelry that employees preparing food can safely wear while performing their daily tasks.

Generally speaking, jewelry and other accessories are banned for their ability to harbor bacteria and potentially transfer it to food.

This applies to virtually any accessory worn on the fingers, hands, wrists, or arms, including watches and bracelets of any kind, including those with medical info.

However, there is one exception to the rule according to the latest version of the FDA’s food code, published in 2022.

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It specifies that the lone exception is “a plain ring such as a wedding band.”

The FDA permits this since wedding bands and similar styles of rings lack “grooves here pathogens can hide,” according to StateFoodSafety.com.

Employees should also wash their hands often and be sure to wear gloves in order to minimize risk of contamination from their ring, per StateFoodSafety.

In cases where an employee has a need for a medical bracelet, the FDA urges a conversation between the worker and management to find a new solution.

Olive Garden is another restaurant strictly enforcing the “one ring” rule Credit: Reuters

The policy helps keep patrons safe and healthy, no matter their age Credit: Getty

This can include wearing a necklace or anklet with the needed medical info, or taking advantage of other widely available alternatives.

Restaurants including Texas Roadhouse also have strict hair and beard rules, also as a result of the FDA’s Food Code.

These hygiene standards are fully in effect, and part of a push toward “Active Managerial Control,” replacing the older system where managers could enforce hair rules at their own discretion.

“Everyone entering the kitchen must wear a hair restraint to prevent contamination, and anyone with a beard must wear a beard net,” says the FDA.

These rules don’t apply to staff handling pre-packaged food and drinks, such as hosts and some wait staff.