News — food safety

If you are asking what the best eco-friendly cutting boards are for a hygienic everyday kitchen, studies often point to Moso bamboo boards because they absorb less water than many woods, show fewer knife gouges and can last 5 to 10 years with simple care. That combination of low moisture, fewer deep cuts and natural plant compounds is exactly why well made bamboo boards, like Deer & Oak’s Moso bamboo range, repeatedly test as hygienic choices when they are cleaned correctly. Why do studies say bamboo cutting boards are hygienic? So why do studies say bamboo cutting boards are hygienic...

If you are asking whether bamboo cutting boards are naturally antibacterial according to research, the honest answer is: they can inhibit some bacterial growth better than plastic in certain tests, but they are not self sterilising and still need careful cleaning. Studies on bamboo and other wooden boards show bacterial reductions of around 90 to 99% after washing and air drying, compared with higher survival on scarred plastic, so the safest option for everyday cooking is a well maintained, good quality Moso bamboo board used with sensible hygiene. What research actually says about antibacterial bamboo boards Several food safety studies...

If you cook meat and vegetables at home, you should use separate boards for meat and veg to cut your risk of food poisoning by a significant margin. In a typical family kitchen, keeping one dedicated board for raw meat and another for veg and ready to eat foods is one of the simplest ways to avoid cross contamination. Why separate boards for meat and veg matter Raw meat can carry bacteria such as Campylobacter, Salmonella and E. coli. These can transfer to your knife, your hands and your chopping board. If you then chop salad, herbs or cooked food...

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...