Safer Cutting Boards: Wood or Plastic?

[TentHunter]

I remembered seeing a news article a few months back about research that had shown that wooden cutting boards are actually SAFER than synthetic cutting boards.

Being skeptical I just couldn't believe what I was reading. After all, for years we've been told that wood cutting boards aren't safe for raw meat. In fact ALL of my meat cutting boards are currently plastic.

Well, being the skeptic I am I actually found some of the research that was done.

Carefully read this article and be surprised at the findings.

UC-Davis Food Safety Laboratory: Cutting Board Research

Now, of course you'll find articles to refute the research, HOWEVER again, being skeptical, I checked the U.S. Food & drug Administration and was surprised to learn that after further testing they no longer recommend plastic as being safer than wood.

In fact wood is the ONLY porous material they recommend; the rest should be NON-porous.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/cutting_boards_and_food_safety.pdf




Is any else as surprised by this as me?

 

[HoDeDo]

That is a little suprising.... but I say, go disposable! Then there are no worries

 

[Chili Head]

I was just telling the wife about the disposable ones last night. I think I'll be getting some soon.


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[jimsbarbecue]

We use epicurean wood boards. They are dishwasher safe and clean them in the dishwasher all the time with no ill effects.

 

[Chris231]

I'm with Jim on this one, I exclusively use the epicurean boards on my raw meat. They are then cleaned in the dishwasher. These boards are exclusively used for raw meat only. I use a traditional wooden board for cutting cooked meats and veggies. Probably the safest way to go is to use a disposable board for all raw meats like the one's BP sells.

 

[roburado]

I'm not really surprised by this. Personally, the problem I have been having is that I haven't found a good quality wooden one that would last me. I'll have to research that.

 

[TentHunter]

Personally, the problem I have been having is that I haven't found a good quality wooden one that would last me.

After reading Jim & Chris' posts I looked up the Epicurean cutting boards and they look pretty nice and reasonably priced to boot.

I have also been considering getting an order of the disposable cutting boards to use on days when I'm doing bigger cooks and need to streamline the workload. Having to stop, wash & sanitize my big cutting board in between meats or veggies, especially if the wife is in the kitchen, can be bit of a pain.

 

[Deb]

That's interesting. I have been using plastic but replace fairly often. I think I'll look at the epicurean ones next.

I sent Kevin to college with disposable cutting boards.

 

[squirtthecat]

Wow, I'll have to check those out as well.

 

[ACW3]

Good information. Worth checking into further. How do those epicurean wood boards treat your knife blades, Jim? Do you have to touch up the blades any more often than usual?

Art

 

[jimsbarbecue]

I haven't notice either way on if they are better or worse on the knife edges. So I gues that is good.

 

[Rip]

Interesting stuff. First off, this is not new research, it was done in 2005. Both styles of cutting boards have their weaknesses as far as cleaning and harboring bacteria. I feel the important issue is to ensure you keep whatever you use as clean as possible and or use disposables. We try to segregate cutting board use into things that will be cooked and things that won't. We also run our boards through the dishwasher periodically.

Good topic Cliff!

 

[Big Brother Smoke]

I use diposables for home, comps and catering for raw meats. Worth every penny!

 

[BBQ Joe]

I use the disposable. They work great.

 

[Susan]

I have one Corian board which definitely dulls my knives faster. I like the disposables.

 

[ACW3]

I saw some of the epicurean cutting boards at Bed, Bath, and Beyond today. With their ever available 20% off coupons, these boards are down right reasonable! I will be replacing some of mine with a set of these, soon. I also keep a few disposable boards around, primarily for use with chicken.

Art

 

[TentHunter]

I'm just reviving this thread because of questions posed on the Knife Infographic thread about cutting boards!

Thanks!

Cliff

 

[Pappymn]

Dedicated boards work for me. One board dedicated to poultry. Makes a ton of sense!

 

[RickB]

I always use plastic for any type of poultry, but use my 20 year old pro-chef for everything else.This one is 24x18x1.5. I believe this is the same board. http://www.metrokitchen.com/product/JB-R02. For 90-100 bucks you can't beat it.

In twenty years this thing has never split or cupped. The grain is as tight as the day I got it. If you want a good board pay the bucks up front as they will last you a lifetime. Pro-chef which I believe are made by Boos and John Boos both put out top notch boards.

 

[Pappymn]

Now if you can afford an end grain board......that is living large. On my long term wish list.