News — kitchen hygiene

If you want the most hygienic cutting surface for everyday home cooking, a high quality hardwood or bamboo chopping board that you wash within 10 minutes of use and dry upright is usually safer long term than a plastic board that keeps deep knife grooves. Studies from the last 20 years show that bacteria survive less than 3 to 12 hours on well maintained wood, compared with up to 48 hours in the cuts of heavily used plastic boards. Wood or plastic chopping board: what is actually more hygienic? So which kitchen board is more hygienic in real life: wood...

If you’ve just cut raw fish, you should wash your chopping board with hot water and detergent for at least 20 seconds, because studies show fish juices can spread bacteria across more than 30 cm of board surface and stay active for several hours if not removed properly. Using a proper detergent clean on a dedicated board cuts the risk of cross contamination to your salad, fruit or bread straight after. Why cleaning chopping boards after fish matters Raw fish is not just about smell. It can carry bacteria such as Vibrio and Salmonella, and strong oils that cling to...

If you want the best colour coded chopping boards for raw meat in the UK, the most hygienic approach is to dedicate a single board to raw meat and pair it with clearly marked boards for cooked food and vegetables. A practical, long lasting setup is a 45x35cm raw meat board plus a 38x28cm board for other foods, such as the Deer & Oak Bamboo Double Pack which gives you 2 boards you can colour code with clips or stickers for under £50. Why colour coded chopping boards matter for raw meat Raw chicken, beef and pork carry bacteria that...

If you prepare raw fish and fresh vegetables at home more than once a week, then yes, you should use separate chopping boards for fish and veg to cut the risk of cross contamination by up to 60% compared with using a single board and casual rinsing. The simplest way is to keep one clearly designated board for raw fish and another for vegetables and ready to eat foods, and to stick to that system every time you cook. Why separate chopping boards for fish and veg make sense Raw fish can carry bacteria such as Vibrio and Salmonella, as...