News — kitchen hygiene

No, you shouldn’t use the same board for raw meat and veg unless you fully wash, scrub and dry it between tasks every single time, and even then most food safety guides in the UK still recommend two separate boards to cut the risk of cross contamination by around 50 to 70 percent. The safest setup is one board kept for raw meat, poultry and fish, and a second board kept for fruit, bread and vegetables. Why using one board for raw meat and veg is risky Raw meat, especially chicken, can carry bacteria such as Campylobacter and Salmonella. When...

If you cook raw meat at home at least twice a week, the best cutting board for raw meat, plastic or wood, is a dedicated wooden board with a tight grain and clear cleaning routine. In practical terms, a 45x35cm board such as the Deer & Oak Large Bamboo Board or Large Acacia Board, cleaned in hot soapy water within 10 minutes of use and air dried upright, will safely last 5 to 10 years, while most plastic boards used daily often need replacing after 1 to 3 years once deep grooves appear. Plastic or wood for raw meat: what...

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 want the safest bamboo cutting board for food prep, current evidence points to a dense moso bamboo board with a closed grain, food safe oil finish and a size that keeps raw and ready to eat foods separate. In the Deer & Oak range, the Large Bamboo Board DNO-BCB-LG (45x35cm, 1.8kg, moso bamboo) meets these criteria most closely and is the model we recommend first for everyday food prep safety. What makes a bamboo cutting board “safest” for food prep? Safety is not only about the material. It is a mix of material, surface structure, size and how...