cutting boards & politicians

[Tinker]

I came across this item on another site.  The conversation had started about how resterants can no longer use wood cutting boards, but must use plastic boards.  I had replied that i had read somewhere that wood boards were actually safer.  the idea that plastic were safer was from "Old Wives Tales."  another respondent located what I believe is the exact same article i had read many years ago.  The following is from an article in the NY Times in 1993.  I had qualified my own statement by saying i could not locate the article.  glad tto know i was not dreaming.

It had long been believed that disease-causing bacteria from raw foods like chicken would soak into a wooden board and be difficult to remove, even when washed; then when other foods, like salad ingredients, that are eaten raw are cut on the same board, the dangerous bacteria could be picked up by them and transferred alive to the consumer. Plastic was assumed to be safer because it is nonporous and contaminating organisms could be readily washed off. A Word for Safety
Based on the new studies, Dr. Cliver said, "Wood may be preferable in that small lapses in sanitary practices are not as dangerous on wood as on plastic." But he cautioned against being "sloppy about safety" and warned cooks to be sure to wash off cutting surfaces after cutting meat, chicken or fish, whether the surface used is wood or plastic.
The researchers tested boards made from seven different species of trees and four types of plastic and found similar results: wood was safer than plastic, regardless of the materials used. Thus far, however, the researchers have been unable to isolate the agents in wood that make it so inhospitable to bacteria.

Tinker

 

[woodwrights_corner]

In high school from 69-72 I worked in a eight aisle grocery store with a fantastic service meat counter.

I was taught by a gentleman I consider a master of the trade.  Walt  had worked in the retail trade since the end of World War II.  We worked off of three wooden blocks.  Every evening we cleaned the blocks by scraping, salting and brushing.  I don't know that we ever made anyone sick, but we come to think about it we did reserve one block for poultry (most of the time).

Woodwrights_corner

 

[Tinker]

I remember getting a couple of plastic boards because they were so smooth and hard.  we had a few (different sized) wood cutting boards that had been used for years. I think i read the article shortly after we started usin the plastic and immediately retired all of the plastic boards from cutting any meat.  I will only use the wood boards, and so far, i ain't dead yet.  8) [scratch chin]
Tinker

 

[RonMiller]

I'm not sure where it was but Robert Lang once had an article about this and explained why it was that wood was safer than plastic. Probably an old "Woodworking Magazine" or Popular WWing.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Wood absorbs moisture.

Rather, wood withdraws the moisture bacteria need to survive so they don't live long.

Plastic cuttings boards quickly accumulate knife grooves that are the equivalent of canals to micro-organisms and they live long and happily in those grooves. Merely drying the plastic cutting board with a towel doesn't drain the canals. I'm not sure the drying cycle in a dishwasher is good enough.

Glass cutting boards would be safer than wood but unkind to your knives.

 

[Oldwood]

I cut this out of the newspaper as you can see in 1999. I think the tests prove that wood eliminates the bacteria but there is still a reluctance among some to accept that fact.
Even the scientist in the article after saying no bacteria could be found on the wood board warns about badly banged up wood boards [tongue] I have resurfaced the old 2' thick cutting boards from the old meat shops that are wore down 6" in the middle & I don't remember hearing about any of them causing a problem.

Gerry

 

[PaulMarcel]

Michael's answer's the best; my plastic cutting boards have enough cuts in them (because I know how to sharpen! haha) that they are likely a zoo.

I think part of this "plastic is better" mentality comes from knife handles.  It has been a long time since knives with bolted on wooden handles were allowed because bacteria could sneak in under the wood and live in the handle.  Solid one-part plastic handles became the norm in kitchens.  Then the reasoning that if wood was bad for knife handles, it must be bad for the cutting board, too.  Note that today you can get wooden handles on some knives that are fully sealed.

When I worked as a prep cook, we used plastic cutting boards, but I also had easy access to a 3-part sink to wash, rinse, then sanitize.  I still get a headache from the bleach, but that's another story.

When I'd work as a line cook, though, the working area had a long wooden cutting board.  Nothing you couldn't consume raw would hit it; there was a separate cutting surface for that that was plastic and removable for sanitizing.

 

[bpitch]

Plastic cuttings boards quickly accumulate knife grooves that are the equivalent of canals to micro-organisms and they live long and happily in those grooves. Merely drying the plastic cutting board with a towel doesn't drain the canals. I'm not sure the drying cycle in a dishwasher is good enough.

As far as I remember, temperature required to sanitize is around 250 F, and I am sure dishwasher does not operate on such high degrees ( everybody who would open it before cycle ends to add or remove some individual dishes would have gotten steam burns).