Cutting boards and bacteria

kms

kms

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Apr 18, 2022
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New member, pretty much just been lurking and reading. I came across this research that I thought folks might find interesting, so thought I’d share it. One significant finding is that oiling a cutting board greatly reduces its antibacterial properties (can’t post link, so title below)

Wood Cutting Board Finishes and Their Effect on Bacterial Growth​


“Wood species, coating, and time all affect the ability of wooden cutting boards to move bacteria and ‘clean’ the cutting surface. All coated samples had significantly more bacteria on their surface than did uncoated samples. Unfinished European beech, generally, had the lowest recoverable amount of bacteria. The exception to this was when the wood was inoculated with Listeria, in which case uncoated oak (white and red) had less bacteria than the diffuse porous woods. Although a ‘better’ wood species was found, it did not perform uniformly across all tests, and wood generally considered undesirable for cutting boards (red oak) did perform well with Listeria. All boards had a decreased bacterial load over time, which was expected. Broadly speaking, all coatings interfered with the wood’s ability to move bacteria, causing increased surface bacterial loads.”

“These results run counter to popular understanding of wood cutting board maintenance and will hopefully impact the way households and professional kitchens use and care for their food-contact wood in the future.”
 
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I`m naughty I use mostly all wood boards at home and I don`t oil them - they are all really dry - they even go on a sterilised tea towel on a radiator after thoroughly washing them.
I know that bugs need moisture to live - oil or water.
The tannin in oak kills bacteria that`s why it`s used for wine, brandy, sherry, bourbon and whiskey barrels.
Why are wooden barrels legal but not wooden chopping boards in a restaurant - it doesn`t make sense.
Cooking in town for the homeless I can only use poly boards and colour-coded plastic knives with a knife steriliser and dishwasher - it`s a PITA but it`s the law even though science says that end-grain boards harbour a lot less bacteria than gouged plastic boards - stupid laws.
 
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I also use poly. It's 12" x18" x .50.

The only reason I use it, is for the knife edge. Slicing across wood grain can be hard on the edge. Verses slicing with the grain. I can see it for chopping. Rocking cuts.

The only reason I don't own a wood cutting board. Is because I have no room for the one I'd want. Big, thick, and heavy. Expensive and nice.

When researching cutting boards. The bacteria is always brought up. Without a single example of a documented case of someone falling dead or becoming sick from using a wood cutting board. Even after a few thousand years of humans cutting food on a piece of wood. And for that matter. Why use wooden dinnerware?
 
Hmmm. I bookmarked a link to a UC Davis study about wooden cutting boards, but that link now takes me to an entirely different website! That study said wood is good, and properly handled, is cleaner than plastic.

Here is another website I found on this. I’ve returned to wooden boards, my wife still prefers to toss her plastic boards into a dishwasher. And our kids recently used my bread knife - the only serrated knife in my (and my wife’s) kitchen - to carve a roast. I walked away to refill my glass with fresh ice and something refreshing…. Gotta love them, the heathens!!

 
There's a smaller poly board in the kitchen. It sees a dishwasher.

Now it has a chemical burned surface from years in the dishwasher. You can run a knife across it and see plastic powder coming off the board. It needs to be thrown away but it's her cutting board.

Dishwashers are crazy hard on plastic and wood.

Whatever happened to people keeping a spray bottle with some diluted bleach? Spray and wipe. But unfortunately, it also kills the germs keeping your immune system going.

My poly board gets a dish soap and hot water wash. Wiped off and...

Put back up.
 
Most things you'd need to worry about are killed by a combination of sunlight and time. In fact, that's a drinking water sterilization* method. You put the water in a plastic bottle or a plastic bag and leave it out in the sunlight. The result is water that's safe to drink. You can also buy special plastic bags for this process that are supposedly more efficient because they have a reflective surface on one side.

Anyway, after you wash your cutting board, leave it out in direct sunlight. My parents taught me about that. They'd always leave the wooden cutting board sitting out by the kitchen window after washing it. It's not just for drying it.

You know what else kills the nasty things? Heat. If you cook your food then it's not really something you need to worry about. If you're just making a salad or something, then it could be an issue. Just remember not to do that on a dirty cutting board.

*note that I wrote "sterilization", not "purification". These are two different things. Purification is about removing chemical impurities while sterilization is about destroying microscopic organisms.
 
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Somewhere along the line, I read that wood cutting boards are often or usually more "sanitary" than plastic. This was surprising to me at first, but the reasons make sense:

First, wood "wicks away" moisture better than plastic -- particularly the end grain on a butcher block -- and when the moisture is drawn away, many bacteria desiccate and die.
Second, many woods also contain toxins to protect the tree from infections and to cripple/kill competing vegetation (walnut/juglone), and those toxins kill bacteria.
Third, plastic cutting boards get knife cuts in them that can harbor water + bacteria and once bacteria get into the grooves, they are somewhat shielded from washing/scraping/detergent.

But because there are so many variables with wood cutting boards -- what kind of wood it is, how porous it is, what condition it's in, how it's cleaned and maintained, etc -- and because you probably shouldn't use harsh disinfectants like bleach or degreasers like ammonia or lye on wood, the FDA only approves plastic cutting boards nowadays. I guess the "fewer variables" aspect of plastic, and the ability to use degreasers, disinfectants, boiling water, etc., on plastic, outweigh the possibility of plastic boards harboring moisture and live bacteria in their cuts.
 
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Guy McVer said:
Most things you'd need to worry about are killed by a combination of sunlight and time. In fact, that's a drinking water sterilization* method. You put the water in a plastic bottle or a plastic bag and leave it out in the sunlight. The result is water that's safe to drink. You can also buy special plastic bags for this process that are supposedly more efficient because they have a reflective surface on one side.

Anyway, after you wash your cutting board, leave it out in direct sunlight. My parents taught me about that. They'd always leave the wooden cutting board sitting out by the kitchen window after washing it. It's not just for drying it.

You know what else kills the nasty things? Heat. If you cook your food then it's not really something you need to worry about. If you're just making a salad or something, then it could be an issue. Just remember not to do that on a dirty cutting board.

*note that I wrote "sterilization", not "purification". These are two different things. Purification is about removing chemical impurities while sterilization is about destroying microscopic organisms.
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I would highly recommend not doing or believing that. I work in a lab for a spring water company and can tell you that one of the quickest ways to ensure ideal microbial growth in water is to store it in sunlight.

UV light will degrade microbes at a cellular level but it must be at a sufficient intensity and correct wave length and won't work particularly well if there are suspended solids(which is normal if it is unfiltered) in the water. Not to mention bugs like Giardia and Cryptosporidium that are very resistant to specialized UV treatment, never mind sunlight. Sunlight as a whole will encourage growth. That's why municipal water supplies (that generally come from open bodies of water) need to be put through processing plants before it is safe to drink. The best ways to ensure water is safe is through sufficient filtration, boiling or chemicals like chlorine tablets etc.

Also leaving a cutting board out in direct sunlight will have no effect for the same reason. It may contribute to drying it out which would help, but the sun is not going to kill any microbes hiding in the cuts in the board. Again if anything it will encourage bacterial growth if there is enough moisture present.
 
chalby said:
I would highly recommend not doing or believing that. I work in a lab for a spring water company and can tell you that one of the quickest ways to ensure ideal microbial growth in water is to store it in sunlight.

UV light will degrade microbes at a cellular level but it must be at a sufficient intensity and correct wave length and won't work particularly well if there are suspended solids(which is normal if it is unfiltered) in the water. Not to mention bugs like Giardia and Cryptosporidium that are very resistant to specialized UV treatment, never mind sunlight. Sunlight as a whole will encourage growth. That's why municipal water supplies (that generally come from open bodies of water) need to be put through processing plants before it is safe to drink. The best ways to ensure water is safe is through sufficient filtration, boiling or chemicals like chlorine tablets etc.

Also leaving a cutting board out in direct sunlight will have no effect for the same reason. It may contribute to drying it out which would help, but the sun is not going to kill any microbes hiding in the cuts in the board. Again if anything it will encourage bacterial growth if there is enough moisture present.
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Straight from the CDC. Have a good read.

The good thing that you said here was to make sure that you start with a clear water source free of impurities. You obviously don't want cloudy water and/or bits of stuff floating in it. Notice how I made a point of distinguishing purification from sterilization.

Anyway, I understand that you are coming from a place of good intentions.
 
Many years ago Bernard Levine posted the research information that plastic cutting boards create micro havens for bacterial growth.

n2s
 
I retired after 37 years in the public health field and probably inspected thousands of restaurants in CT. Both wood and plastic were allowed but any with visible cuts or scarring had to be discarded or resurfaced to smooth.
Obviously wood can be planed/re-surfaced a lot easier than plastic.
Most went with wood. The thicker the better. Then to the local cabinet shop to be planed when necessary. The cabinet shops would not plane plastic boards and sanding just made them furry which was unacceptable.
Both types were required to be sanitized with a bleach spray and rinse through the day.
I HATED inspecting food services. Thankful it was just a small part of my job.
 
Guy McVer said:

Straight from the CDC. Have a good read.

The good thing that you said here was to make sure that you start with a clear water source free of impurities. You obviously don't want cloudy water and/or bits of stuff floating in it. Notice how I made a point of distinguishing purification from sterilization.

Anyway, I understand that you are coming from a place of good intentions.
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Very interesting, thanks for the link. I appreciate learning about stuff I didn't know about.

Still, you would need to be very specific in how you use this method and it still is a poor choice where you have other options. It seems this method was developed for 3rd world countries as a low cost way of reducing illnesses from drinking water. Most of my points above are still valid though. It is a poor choice if you are able(or can afford the energy cost) to boil your water in the case of needing to sterilize water from a stream for example or have a way to filter it. This method won't kill certain parasites or cysts that can cause serious illness. Granted it is better than nothing if done correctly.

Anyway apologies for off topic.
 
The nastiest thing in the kitchen. Is the soap dispenser. Like the bottle of Dawn.

It's only touched with dirty hands. Once you get the soap. The bottle will sit there. Occasionally getting wiped off in the morning. When I'm scrubbing the sink with bar keeper. Emptying the dishwasher.

The cutting board is covered on being clean. Just don't touch the soap bottle unless you're going to wash you hands.
 
If prep work only involves vegetables, the main concern for cutting boards is maintaining edge sharpness of the kitchen knife--reducing risks of rolling the edge or chipping. When animal products are involved, the concern shifts to microbial contamination--with damages to the knife of secondary concern. Commercial sites using only one board are choosing synthetic solutions. That's all that Korin sells to NY restaurants and enthusiasts. For the less well heeled home cook--like me--a multiple board solution with wood for vegetables, and plastic for meats is the best solution: IMO, of course.
 
I use an end grain Larch board by far the most. Have a couple of the plastic ones and a cheapie laminated board from Wally world. The Larch board is a good one for nearly everything, but it's a little small for say a brisket or a turkey.View attachment 2429381
 
I don’t move cooked meat to a cutting board. It is either cooked already portioned or carved on a platter.

I also don’t generally eat raw vegetables. If I am slicing a tomato or onion to use raw, I use a paper plate.
 
Guy McVer said:
Most things you'd need to worry about are killed by a combination of sunlight and time. In fact, that's a drinking water sterilization* method. You put the water in a plastic bottle or a plastic bag and leave it out in the sunlight. The result is water that's safe to drink. You can also buy special plastic bags for this process that are supposedly more efficient because they have a reflective surface on one side.

Anyway, after you wash your cutting board, leave it out in direct sunlight. My parents taught me about that. They'd always leave the wooden cutting board sitting out by the kitchen window after washing it. It's not just for drying it.

You know what else kills the nasty things? Heat. If you cook your food then it's not really something you need to worry about. If you're just making a salad or something, then it could be an issue. Just remember not to do that on a dirty cutting board.

*note that I wrote "sterilization", not "purification". These are two different things. Purification is about removing chemical impurities while sterilization is about destroying microscopic organisms.
Click to expand...
I don’t think it would be safe to conclude that UV disinfection effective for water would also be effective for wood surfaces. Drying (in the sun, or elsewhere) is helpful.
 
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