Is it less sanitary to use a plastic cutting board opposed to a wood one?!
You also have to consider the fact that restaurants also use 75 percent of their cutting boards at least 8 - 18 hours a day, so that is some extreme use.
I personally use a plastic cutting board at home, because it was cheap. Prior to this I had a really nice wooden cutting board that I discarded after it fell to the floor and cracked in half.
Plastic and wood are the top materials for food cutting boards for two important reasons - the composite of both can be renewed on the surface with sanding, and they are both a soft enough, hard surface to cut foods on, as they will not chip or damage knives.
Many people think wood cutting boards are just a treacherous love hotel for disease. This can be true of both plastic and wood boards. To prevent this, the key is to take care of the boards.
With both boards, cut the food, not the board - stop cutting once you have cut through the product, it will minimize deep cut marks in the board. Don't hack at food when cutting it up, you don't need a wing span to dice parsley, just precise gentle cuts. Here's the important part for both styles of boards:
Wash them immediately. Hot water, soap, rinse and air dry them.
Do not put them away, wet. When they become pretty cut up, with obvious deep cuts that are turning black, resurface the board or replace it, if you're worried.
Periodically, I will soak my boards in some bleach and hot water, rinse, and allow them to thoroughly air dry. Wood is not particularly susceptible to soaking up food stuff, unless you leave something juicy sitting on it all day - but you need to make sure you wash and dry it.
I do not recommend glass cutting boards at all. Reguardless of what kind of special glass it is, the hard surface will damage your knives.
I am not a huge fan of bamboo cutting boards for the mere price of it - I am glad they found a highly renewable resource, but it's still a new, flashy trend item, so I am going to wait for the price to drop.
I keep in consideration that most items on the market, of high price, are to lure novice cooks trying to bling out their kitchen. I only invest good money in proper knives, good cookware, and my Kitchen Aid mixer and blender. These are the items I use the most in my kitchen. :)
People are overtly paranoid about bacteria and germs, and spend a good deal of money on disposable, toxic crap to ensure they don't get sick - no one realises the biggest step to prevent disease is to wash their hands. :)
Answers: Alright. Restaurants use plastic cutting boards because they send them off to have the top layer sanded off when they become cut up and have deep scratches all over.
You also have to consider the fact that restaurants also use 75 percent of their cutting boards at least 8 - 18 hours a day, so that is some extreme use.
I personally use a plastic cutting board at home, because it was cheap. Prior to this I had a really nice wooden cutting board that I discarded after it fell to the floor and cracked in half.
Plastic and wood are the top materials for food cutting boards for two important reasons - the composite of both can be renewed on the surface with sanding, and they are both a soft enough, hard surface to cut foods on, as they will not chip or damage knives.
Many people think wood cutting boards are just a treacherous love hotel for disease. This can be true of both plastic and wood boards. To prevent this, the key is to take care of the boards.
With both boards, cut the food, not the board - stop cutting once you have cut through the product, it will minimize deep cut marks in the board. Don't hack at food when cutting it up, you don't need a wing span to dice parsley, just precise gentle cuts. Here's the important part for both styles of boards:
Wash them immediately. Hot water, soap, rinse and air dry them.
Do not put them away, wet. When they become pretty cut up, with obvious deep cuts that are turning black, resurface the board or replace it, if you're worried.
Periodically, I will soak my boards in some bleach and hot water, rinse, and allow them to thoroughly air dry. Wood is not particularly susceptible to soaking up food stuff, unless you leave something juicy sitting on it all day - but you need to make sure you wash and dry it.
I do not recommend glass cutting boards at all. Reguardless of what kind of special glass it is, the hard surface will damage your knives.
I am not a huge fan of bamboo cutting boards for the mere price of it - I am glad they found a highly renewable resource, but it's still a new, flashy trend item, so I am going to wait for the price to drop.
I keep in consideration that most items on the market, of high price, are to lure novice cooks trying to bling out their kitchen. I only invest good money in proper knives, good cookware, and my Kitchen Aid mixer and blender. These are the items I use the most in my kitchen. :)
People are overtly paranoid about bacteria and germs, and spend a good deal of money on disposable, toxic crap to ensure they don't get sick - no one realises the biggest step to prevent disease is to wash their hands. :)
I'm more paranoid when I use a wood cutting board, I'm afraid the bacteria will absorb into the wood. You're probably fine, just wash it with hot water and dish detergent.
I would think safer, because it doesnt have as many places for bacteria to sneak onto. Also plastic isnt the greatest surface for bacteria to grow. Easy to clean also.
Nope . . . the other way around . . .
It is now (because of politics) but 30 years ago there was actually no difference.
I think the board should be as non-porous as possible. Try a bamboo board. They are supposed to be really hard, so I'm assuming they don't get full of scratches and cuts as easily.
NO.
After awhile, though, even plastic boards need to be thrown away, in my opinion. All the cutting into them makes nice little pockets for bacteria to live in.
Studies have shown that wood harbours less bacteria than plastic, but both are fine if they are cleaned.
plastic is better than wood because some woods will absorb the liquids from things you are cutting
the most sanitary board is one that you can't cut into with your knife (as bacteria can reproduce in the cracks).
The most important thing, whatever material you use, is to make sure you wash it up thoroughly.
It is harder to get the wooden ones clean after you cut meats like chicken on it. Plastic can be scrubbed with hot water and soap because no meat juices sink into it.
Wood can absorb microorganisms that can never be removed. Plastic, glass, ceramic, or Corian are better.
They make glass ones too if you're that paranoid.
No. Wood traps bacteria. Plastic is non-pourous. The Bacteria won't absorb into plastic. It will to wood.
No. Just make sure you clean both well before each use. I actually think that wood ones are a little less sanitary, but cleaning takes care of it.
No, actually using a plastic cutting board is more sanitary due to the fact that when you use a wooden cutting board, the germs can be absorbed into the wood and are far harder to get out just by washing than with a plastic one.
i think that a wood cutting board would be less sanitary because it is more pourus than a plastic one just make sure to sterilize it when your done to prevent diseases and viruses from spreading
actually its better plastic can clean food off better than wood, so ya
Wood is actually less sanitary, at least restaurants are not permitted to use them as per NY state health inspectors.
Plastic cutting boards have the seal of approval from research scientists. According to studies, wood cutting boards were more likely to retain bacteria than plastic cutting boards, even after a thorough scrubbing with a cleanser. Bacteria can be absorbed into the pores of wooden cutting boards. Contrary to earlier studies, the bacteria didn’t die in these wooden boards. About 75% of the bacteria lay dormant where they could potentially contaminate other foods placed on the board.
Here are some guidelines for use of cutting boards:
Cut meat and poultry on plastic, marble or glass cutting boards with unmarred surfaces.
Do not chop salad vegetables on a cutting board used to trim raw meat. Avoid cross contamination by using a separate cutting board for fresh vegetables, fruits, and breads.
Wash all cutting boards – plastic and wooden thoroughly with hot soapy water after each use. Automatic dishwashers are very effective cleaners for most cutting boards; however, thin plastic or wooden boards may be damaged by dishwashers.
Discard cutting boards with deep grooves or cuts that can harbor bacteria. Foodborne illness outbreaks have been attributed to using wooden cutting boards in food manufacturing.
Sanitize cutting boards occasionally with a solution of two teaspoons chlorine bleach per quart of water. Flood the board with the solution, let it stand a few minutes and rinse thoroughly with fresh water.
Take care.
A wood one supposedly will suck in bacteria more.
If both are cleaned properly it should make no difference.
I'd rather have a clean wood board than a dirty plastic one.
http://www.health.ninemsn.com.au/article...
Try reading that :)
Plastic is much more sanitary, i never use wood and you should never use wood. But if you must use wood never use it for chicken. Even if you don't get sick, you friends or family members might. Wood is for furniture and fireplaces.
Certainly not. Liquids and juices are absorbed into a wooden one & it's harder getting them out. You can scrub a plastic one with hot soapy water and even throw it into a dishwasher. Since e coli is a danger, I wouldn't use one I couldn't throw into the dishwasher.
Plastic or nylon boards can be sanitized using a sanitation solution. Wood cannot be sanitized. There are pores where bacteria can hide, just like in a sponge. The health department will not allow restaurants to use wooden cutting boards because of this.
plastic is better for raw meats because it cleans better. Plastic is actually more sanitary. a wood cutting board can habor bacteria. I only use my wood cutting board for bread
Its the other way around. Wood soaks in juices from meat and stuff like that and it grows lots and lots of bacteria
I bought color coded thin flexable cutting mats. i have a green one for veggies. red for meat. blue for bread and yellow for cheese. its called cross contamination most restaurants have separate ones for different uses. they were 7 bucks at the restaurant supply store. I wash them as i would with my other dishes(hand wash) they are very large. . these i have hanging on the inside of my cupboard door on a hook. very handy things.
i still have my wood one but just find it too luggy to bring out most of the time.there is a way to sanitize it. after washing when it is wet sprinkle table salt on it and leave for 5 minutes and rinse and let dry. i used to oil it once a week cause that just how often I used it. I just needed a easier one to handle. i have a large family of six and prepare 3 meals a day from scratch. not to mention have years of service in food and do catering from time to time.
No either one is fine as long as you clean it well after using it. You must use warm water and soap and scrub it to get all the food remains off of it.
it really depends on the condition of each board, but a glass board is the cleanest... no little grooves get made on it and it's super easy to clean.
by the way i mean specially hardened glass not just normal glass
I have both and I prefer plastic... seems it more sanitary to me. Stick under hot water and soap and its clean.
Wood is best..
wood has a natural bacteria-killing property, which plastic does not. Because of the capillary action of dry wood, germs quickly disappear beneath the surface of the board, where they die quickly. The exposed area on top of the board is free from microbes. In contrast, bacteria just sit on the hard surface of a plastic cutting board, ready to attack whatever food is placed on the board next.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin’s Food Research Institute intentionally contaminated both wooden cutting boards and plastic ones with all types of bacteria that cause food poisoning. They then tested the boards regularly, without washing or touching them, to see what happened to the bacteria. Surprisingly, all of the bacteria on the wooden board dried off within three minutes. On the plastic board, the bacteria not only remained alive but actually multiplied overnight.