News — cutting boards

If you are wondering why chopping boards cause food poisoning, the short answer is this: a single contaminated board can carry millions of bacteria per square centimetre, and if you do not separate raw meat from ready to eat foods or clean the board properly, those bacteria move straight onto your dinner. The safest option is to use at least two boards, clean them within 2 minutes of use, and choose materials that resist deep cuts and are easy to wash, such as pre oiled bamboo or acacia wood. Why do chopping boards cause food poisoning in the first place?...

If you are asking “what’s the best cutting board for everyday home cooking in a British kitchen?”, the most balanced choice from the options in these search results is a 45x35cm bamboo or acacia board, such as the Deer & Oak Large Bamboo Board (45x35cm, 1.8kg) for lighter daily prep or the Large Acacia Board (45x35cm, 2.1kg) for heavier chopping and serving. What the current cutting board comparisons usually get right and wrong Most cutting board comparisons you will find in search results repeat the same high level advice: “wood is gentler on knives than glass”, “bamboo is eco friendly”,...

If you want the most sanitary cutting board for daily cooking, several food safety studies suggest that well maintained wooden and bamboo boards can hold up to 98% fewer live bacteria on the surface 12 hours after contamination compared with heavily scarred plastic boards. That is why some studies say wooden and bamboo cutting boards are more sanitary than plastic, especially once plastic boards develop deep knife grooves. Why do some studies say wooden and bamboo cutting boards are more sanitary than plastic? The short answer is that plastic behaves very differently to wood and bamboo once you start cutting...

If hygiene is your top priority, the best type of cutting board for hygiene, wood or plastic, is a high quality hardwood or bamboo board used in a simple two board system: one 45x35cm wooden or bamboo board for cooked and ready to eat food, and one separate board (wood or plastic) for raw meat and fish. Studies from food safety bodies show that well maintained wooden boards can hold fewer live bacteria after washing than heavily scarred plastic boards, especially over 3 to 5 years of daily use. Wood vs plastic: which cutting board is actually more hygienic? The...