News — food safety

If you prepare raw fish more than once a month, it is not considered safe to use the same chopping board for fish and veg unless you either have separate boards or you follow a strict 3 step routine: wash in hot soapy water for at least 30 seconds, rinse, then air dry fully for at least 2 hours. For most home kitchens, the safest and easiest option is to keep one board for fish and meat and a separate board for vegetables and ready to eat food. Why sharing a chopping board for fish and veg is risky Raw...

If you want to know whether bamboo cutting boards are hygienic, several lab studies have found that bamboo can reduce live bacteria on the surface by around 90–99% within a few hours when cleaned and dried properly, performing at least as well as plastic boards and often better than heavily scarred ones. In practical terms, a well cared for Moso bamboo board is one of the safest everyday options for home kitchens that follow basic food safety rules. What do studies say about bamboo cutting boards and bacteria? Research on wooden and bamboo boards goes back to the 1990s. Work...

If you are choosing between bamboo and plastic for food safety, current studies suggest that well maintained bamboo cutting boards can reduce live bacteria on the surface more quickly than plastic, with some tests showing up to 90% of bacteria dying off on wooden and bamboo style boards within 3 hours compared with bacteria surviving much longer in deep plastic grooves. That said, no cutting board material actively "kills" every germ, so safe chopping is always a mix of material choice and good cleaning habits. How bamboo and plastic cutting boards handle bacteria The key question is not just "can...

If you want to know how to disinfect plastic chopping boards properly, the most reliable method at home is a 2 stage clean: first scrub with hot water at around 60°C and washing up liquid, then soak or wipe with a disinfecting solution such as 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of unscented household bleach in 1 litre of cold water for at least 2 minutes before rinsing and drying upright. Why plastic chopping boards need proper disinfection Plastic chopping boards are often used for raw chicken, minced beef and fish, which can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli. Those...