News — food safety

If you cook meat, fish and fresh food at home, it is not considered safe to use one chopping board for everything. Food safety guidance in the UK and EU recommends using at least 2 separate boards (for example 1 for raw meat and fish, 1 for ready to eat foods) to cut the risk of cross contamination by harmful bacteria by well over 50%. Why one chopping board for everything is risky Raw chicken, pork and fish can carry bacteria such as Campylobacter and Salmonella. When you cut them on a board, tiny cuts in the surface hold juices...

If you want the safest board for everyday home cooking, current food safety research suggests that a high quality wooden board is usually less likely to hold live bacteria after washing than a plastic board with deep knife scars. In simple terms, for most home kitchens, a well maintained wooden board is often the better choice for managing bacteria compared with a heavily worn plastic one. Wooden vs plastic cutting boards bacteria: what actually happens? When you slice chicken, chop onions or carve a roast, tiny bits of raw food and juice get into the surface of your board. The...

If you want to cut your risk of food poisoning at home by up to 50%, the single simplest habit is to use separate chopping boards for raw and cooked food. One board for raw meat, poultry and fish, and a second board for cooked food and ready to eat items keeps harmful bacteria away from food that’s already safe to eat. Why using separate boards matters in a real kitchen Raw chicken can carry Campylobacter and raw mince can carry E. coli. These bacteria only need a tiny amount of juice from a knife groove to move from raw...

If you are wondering what the safest and most practical board is for raw meat, food safety research is clear: a dedicated, dishwasher safe plastic or wood fibre style board is usually easiest to keep sanitary for raw meat, while a thicker bamboo or hardwood board is better reserved for cooked meat and prep. In a typical home kitchen, using one plastic or wood fibre board for raw meat and a 45x35cm wooden board for everything else gives you a simple, low risk system you can stick to for 5 to 10 years. Plastic vs wood fibre cutting boards for...