Soaking in a weak bleach solution is a good idea after you’ve had raw things, particularly chicken, on them.

I use the thin plastic “disposable” ones, colour coded for different jobs.

I saw a comparison of boards on one of the science shows on TV one night (sorry can’t remember which one!). Basically they used different types of chopping boards under ‘normal circumstances’, then cleaned them (using detergent and hot water as I recall) and checked for levels of bacteria etc the next day.

Surprisingly wooden boards came out on top (can’t remember which was worst), most importantly in reducing the spread of germs. Some of the others tested ended up with organisms completely covering the board, due to the surface enabling them to easily spread.

If you’re worried about the effect of the board on your knife, the best choice is a wooden board made of cross cuts. That is, the grain of the wood runs vertically through the board instead of horizontally. When you chop on this kind of board, the edge goes slightly between the grain, which means the edge is dulled less. These are usually made of multiple blocks of wood that have been glued together, and tend to be thicker.

Wood has natural anti-bacterial properties, and dries out faster than plastic, so it is a more hostile environment for bacterial than plastic. Of course, if you don’t clean your cutting board well, the safety advantages of wood don’t do much. And I would still use separate boards for raw meat and other foods.

In order to keep a wooden cutting board in good condition, you should treat it regularly with mineral oil. This helps keep it from being too absorbent and soaking up off flavors.

I have a big wooden chopping board that I use for most things, but when it comes to strong odours such as onions or garlic, or ‘high-risk’ bacterial foods like raw meat I have little plastic ones that sit on top of my wooden board. This is mostly because my wooden chopping board is too big and heavy to clean every time I use it, but I can clean the little plastic ones after every use.

When I did a hospitality management degree we were also told that wooden chopping boards are best if they are used properly because of their natural anti-bacterial properties. However in the 4 restuarants and food outlets that I have worked in they all used plastic, the colour coded ones (green for vegetables, red for raw meat, etc).

Hi Kathryn.
I use a wooden chopping board for fruit and vegetables and a smaller board for garlic/onion. Raw/cooked meat bacteria isn’t an issue (don’t eat it) and the main reason I prefer would is that I’ve been advised the bacteria cannot survive in it.

The commercial kitchens I’ve worked in have used colour coded boards, one for raw meat, one for cooked, one for vegetables.

I clean my boards with baking soda and water and every now and then I soak it in vegetable oil to keep it in good condition. Sometimes I will also run a lemon over it! Citrus is works well in natural cleaning, especially for my garlic board.

Australian Healthy Food Guide magazine had a story on this in the April 07 issue.

If the TV show Caroline is thinking of is “What’s Good For You”, I wouldn’t bet any money on the accuracy of the results! (That show displays some really bad science at times!) As for “Surprisingly wooden boards came out on top … Some of the others tested ended up with organisms completely covering the board”, from the AHFG article: “So wooden chopping boards were more hygienic than plastic? Perhaps there were magic antibacterial agents in the wood? Sadly, no. The researchers discovered that the bacteria were simply absorbed by the wood and were lurking below the surface, waiting to rise again when the wood was wet”.

From Nick: “Wood … dries out faster than plastic”. Hmm, this is the opposite of what I see in my kitchen?

From the “knife survival” angle, the important thing is just to stay away from marble and glass boards – they look pretty but damage your knives much more than plastic or wood.

Myself, I use a thin plastic board for everything (but I don’t eat meat, eggs or dairy), my housemates use wooden, which makes it easy for us not to get our boards confused (I wouldn’t want them preparing animal products on my board).

This web page: http://whatscookingamerica.net/CuttingBoards/AllAbout.htm has a lot of information about chopping boards, and echoes what Nick said about end grain chopping boards.

We go to a restaurant supply shop and buy Plastic (polyethylene I think) chopping boards that are colour coded as per the HACCP standards for food hygiene.

Red = Raw Meat, Green = Vege’s, White = Dairy etc., etc.

To clean, we put into dishwasher…which is hot enough to kill the nasties.

Thanks to everyone for your juicy comments.

Simon: I’ve also heard of soaking your chopping board in a mild bleach solution. Seems a particularly good idea after raw meat. How mild is “mild” though – what sort of ratio of water to bleach do you use?

Caroline: thanks for your comment. That’s an interesting study. Were all the boards cleaned in exactly the same way? I’ve also heard that wooden boards are better, but as Tara says they have to be treated correctly.

Nick: thanks for that info on boards with cross cuts. I hadn’t thought about the effect of the grain of the wood on the knife, but that makes sense.

Tara: having seperate chopping boards for meat, etc, is definitely a good idea. And as you say, the smaller ones can be thoroughly washed more easily. I think restaurants have to use plastic chopping boards, that are colour coded. Certainly in terms of guaranteeing food hygiene among a group of people working in a kitchen, the simple colour coding system would be a necessity.

Fiona: thanks for your comment. Citrus would certainly deodorise your garlic board very well. I don’t know enough about the cleaning properties of baking soda, what made you first start using that instead of the standard detergent?

Joanne: thanks for your comment. I had also heard that wooden chopping boards were better than plastic, so the research you mention from the Australian Healthy Food Guide is very interesting. There still seems to be ongoing debate on this topic and most of the food safety sites targeted at consumers don’t differentiate between wooden and plastic chopping boards. They just emphasise having different boards for different foods and how you clean it. Thanks also for your link to the US site.

Andrew: cleaning the board in the dishwasher sounds like a great idea. The colour coded boards are useful when you’re using multiple food stuffs – makes it easy to remember which board is for which food and avoid unhygienic confusion!

You’ve all reminded me that I definitely need to give my wooden chopping board a good soak in oil today. Thanks!

PLASTIC!! is best hygienically. (would be interested to hear about bamboo as it is antibacterial).
Study done by Peter Dingle Murdoch Uni Western Australia.
Hygiene: Plastic, wood, glass, acrylic (that order)
CLeaned with an ENJO Kitchen (glove?) was best way to clean for hygiene. He also recommends using a separate board for chicken and meat!!
As for knives: still searching for a definitive outcome from a study.