News — hygiene

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...

If you are asking “what’s the most hygienic cutting board for everyday home cooking, wood or plastic?”, the best answer for most kitchens is a well cared for wooden board used with separate boards for raw meat and ready to eat foods. Studies from the 1990s onwards found that bacteria on wood can drop by over 90% within a few hours, while plastic boards with deep knife scars can keep germs alive in those cuts. Wood vs plastic cutting board hygiene myth: what actually happens to bacteria? The old advice said plastic was safer because you can put it in...

If you’re wondering what the best eco-friendly cutting board is for keeping bacteria under control, Moso bamboo boards are one of the strongest options, because lab tests show bamboo can reduce certain bacterial growth by up to 98% within 24 hours compared with plastic. That natural resistance, combined with tight grain and low water absorption, explains why bamboo cutting boards behave in an antimicrobial way against bacteria in everyday kitchen use. Why are bamboo cutting boards antimicrobial against bacteria? Bamboo behaves as an antimicrobial surface for three main reasons: its plant chemistry, its physical structure and its low porosity. Natural...

If your main concern is food hygiene, a well maintained wooden chopping board is usually safer long term than a plastic one, because wood can trap and starve bacteria inside the fibres while plastic boards often keep bacteria on the surface of deep knife cuts. In practical terms, a 45x35cm wooden board that is washed in hot soapy water after each use and oiled every 4 to 6 weeks can stay hygienic for 5 to 10 years, whereas a plastic board with heavy scoring often needs replacing within 1 to 2 years. Wooden vs plastic chopping boards for food hygiene:...