Wooden cutting boards are cleaner than plastic cutting boards.

With wooden cutting boards, bacteria will be sucked down into the grooves on the cutting board surface, where they can no longer multiply and will even die.

The biggest advantage of plastic cutting boards lies in their smooth surface. People can pour boiling water or scrub on plastic cutting boards without worrying about damaging them. But is that a reason to think that plastic cutting boards are really better than wooden cutting boards?

Professor Dean O. Cliver, a food safety expert at the University of California (USA), and a group of students cultured salmonella bacteria on newly used plastic and wooden cutting boards and then used dishcloths to clean the boards with soap and hot water.

With wooden cutting boards, bacteria will be drawn down into the grooves on the surface of the board, where they cannot grow and will eventually die. Even old wooden cutting boards with deep grooves show less bacteria than new cutting boards.

"You might think that the bacteria in the grooves would be transferred back to the food when we chop with a knife," Cliver told Rodalesorganiclife recently. However, his research shows that bacteria never reappears on the surface of the cutting board, even when the food is chopped repeatedly with a sharp blade.

Wooden cutting boards will absorb bacteria, while plastic cutting boards cannot do this. Therefore, bacteria remain on the surface of plastic cutting boards, causing safety hazards.

Meanwhile, plastic cutting boards, even after being cleaned and disinfected several times, still have bacteria. "With plastic cutting boards, even after washing under hot water, the bacteria in the grooves can still survive. Dishwashers do not eliminate the problem because the bacteria do not die but settle and stick back to the dishes inside the dishwasher. Even when using disinfectants (like chlorine bleach), bacteria can still be found in the grooves of the cutting board," said Cliver.

A similar study conducted by the Institute of Technology and Management also found that unless soaked in disinfectant overnight, plastic cutting boards are extremely susceptible to food residue that is difficult to clean. These residues are an ideal environment for bacteria and mold to grow.

Applying Professor Cliver's research, both the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have advised people to use cutting boards made from maple (also known as maple, the type used in cutting boards in the US) or other hardwoods. However, it is important to remember that you will not gain any benefit from using a wooden cutting board if you do not clean the surface before using it. Cliver advises: "Do not let food residue stick to the surface of the cutting board. It needs to be cleaned immediately during use."

According to VNE