News — food safety

If you want to handle raw chicken safely, use a red chopping board every time. In professional kitchens across the UK, red boards are reserved for raw meat, including chicken, so you keep it completely separate from ready to eat foods and cut your cross contamination risk dramatically. Why colour matters for raw chicken safety Raw chicken can carry bacteria like campylobacter and salmonella. The simplest way to keep your kitchen safer is to give chicken its own dedicated board and never mix it with fruit, salad or cooked food. Colour coding makes this effortless because you can see at...

If you want the best antibacterial cutting board for raw meat in a busy home kitchen, a dedicated, non porous board with natural antibacterial properties is ideal. Within the Deer & Oak range, the Carbonised Bamboo Board DNO-CBB-LG (45x35cm, 1.9kg) stands out as the best single board for raw meat thanks to its dense carbonised bamboo, juice groove and easy sanitation. What makes a cutting board antibacterial for raw meat? When people say “antibacterial cutting board for raw meat”, they usually mean a board that slows bacterial growth and is easy to sanitise properly. No cutting board kills every germ...

If you want to know how to clean cutting boards after raw meat, the safest method is to wash within 2 minutes using hot water at around 60°C, washing up liquid, then sanitise with either a 1:20 diluted bleach solution or white vinegar, and let the board dry upright for at least 30 minutes. That routine greatly reduces bacteria from raw chicken, beef or pork and helps your board last 5 to 10 years, especially when you choose the right material. Why cleaning properly after raw meat matters Raw meat can carry Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter. These bacteria can...

If you clean them correctly at 60–70°C and replace them every 2–3 years, plastic cutting boards are generally safe for raw meat, but for many home cooks in the UK a dedicated, easy to sanitise board plus a separate board for ready to eat foods is the safest long term setup. Are plastic cutting boards safe for raw meat? Yes, plastic cutting boards can be safe for raw meat if you treat them almost like a piece of equipment in a professional kitchen. That means: Hot water at 60–70°C and washing up liquid or a dishwasher cycle at 65°C or...