PLASTIC Vrs WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS

Discussion in 'News from around the damp planet' started by Earth's Internet, Jan 5, 2013.

  1. Earth's Internet

    Earth's Internet Junior Member

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    This isn't exactly News, but it is something I dealt with back in the early 1990s in the food industry and my clientele who were constantly badgered by newer and newer regulations, some of which were absurd and unnecessary. I prepare most of our household meals here as I love to cook. Cutting on some plastic cutting boards here I was reminded of how differently I did things in the States as a result of research done on both wood and plastic.

    Recently there has been a smear campaign to demonize wood and the study done back in 1993. Most of the criticism I've found are from people who as a business in kitchen ware and also the Industry which manufactures these products clearly have a vested interest in turning people opinion to a negative one. Mostly they criticized a Press Report instead of the actual study and totally ignored all other studies on wood's antibacterial properties.

    PLASTIC Vrs WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS

    Again, it may not be News in the modern sense, but maybe a reminder. Don't forget the reference links at the bottom. I know some things can be heavy and boring, but they back up the research done by Dean Cliver who sadly is dead now.


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  2. mouseinthehouse

    mouseinthehouse Junior Member

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    I have been using both wooden and plastic boards for 25 years. For the last 10 years I had a cutting board that was made up of cubed wooden pieces joined together. Gradually it started to split down the middle from getting too wet in the sink. All sorts of crusty stuff got wedged in the split over time but it was no problem. :) I eventually 'retired' it a few months ago lol. I remember my parents had the same single wooden cutting board for ages. It became really concave over the years from constant use. I never put any stock in all that plastic board hype.
     
  3. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

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    Plastic is OHS idiot proof you get a different colour for each food type and you can shove it in the dishwasher.
    I prefer wood but have a cheap plastic one for years because my wooden one had the glue problem that make them hard to wash.
     
  4. juhill

    juhill Junior Member

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    I'm still using the wooden cutting board my parents used.... it is probably around 60yrs old but I've also used some newer wooden boards and they just last about 10yrs then start to split.
     
  5. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    I always thought you were supposed to use plastic boards for meat and wooden for veges and fruit.
     
  6. Earth's Internet

    Earth's Internet Junior Member

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    Actually it's the meat that usually has the problem with the E-coli and Salmonella. So wood will be ideal. Plastic would be okay for vegetables, fruits etc, but I would stick with wood for meats. I do like the one study I put down in the reference reading at the bottom where they used the Fluorescent powder from which the particle size represented the same size as bacteria. Plastic was worse than the wood to get clean. But everyone could do their own experiment simply by cutting something on plastic and wood that does stain and then try cleaning both with soap and scrub brush. Then notice how the stains remain in plastic. The only way I have ever removed those stains is by placing the plastic boards in the Dishwasher. Those stains also represent the similarity of difficulty with bacteria.
     
  7. ecodharmamark

    ecodharmamark Junior Member

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    G'day Kevin

    I think you hit the nail on the head. Any criticism of timber boards is likely to come from those with vested interests in the plastic variety. Having said that, I employ both types. Mostly, however, I use timber, themselves washed (with warm, soapy water) and then solarised (left out in the sun for at least 1-hour) between single uses. Ocassionally (about once or month, or when I remember) I soak both the wooden and plastic varieties in a shallow dish of neat vinegar with added salt. Studies show vinegar to be one of the most effective, cheap, and renewable sources of anti-bacterial agent available today. If I do mix uses (i.e. the prep of both meat and veg, say for a dinner party), then I resort to using plastic boards in addition to the old family heirloom, a Houn Pine board, and a newer hardwood (Euc. sp.) board, the latter especially suited for use when cleavering the heads and lower limbs off rabbits, etc.

    Cheerio, Markos
     
  8. Earth's Internet

    Earth's Internet Junior Member

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    Yes I use both as well, but plastic mainly for vegetables and fruits. We use wood for meat and another wooden slat cutting board for slicing bread. I listed some research material at the bottom which dealt wit anti-bacterial properties of wood for further proofs of it's benefits. For example many packaging and shipping crates are used just because of their anti-bacterial properties. BTW, below is a pic of what our wood cutting board looks like or similar.


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