The Myth About Plastic Cutting Boards

For many, it’s been an age-old debate, like over or under when it comes to the toilet paper roll: What type of cutting board should you use? The two most popular camps of course are plastic and wood, but did you know there are marble, and even glass cutting boards?

For some, the differences may seem innocuous. Sure, some may look better, or cost less, or even just stay put more than others when you’re trying to chop chicken or dice tomatoes, but why so much fuss over what’s getting cut where? As long as you’re cleaning it in between uses, it’s fine… right? Wrong.

Here are some of the myths we want to tackle with you, so that you can keep your peace of mind when chopping up your next great dinner, and still look good doing it.

Just Have Separate Meat and Veggie Boards, Right?

Nope. While many people think that the solution to worries about bacteria and other health hazards is just to separate the meat board from the vegetable board, that’s not what stops cross-contamination from happening.

That theory is fine and good if you’re using two cutting boards at the same time: yes, you’ll want to keep your raw meats on one, and the vegetables and other dry ingredients on the other, but once you wash them, bacteria is bacteria. If you’re saying that you should still have food-specific boards even after they’ve been cleaned, aren’t you assuming that the boards are still, well, dirty?

If a cutting board is truly cleaned, it shouldn’t have any bacteria left on it, so that means that we can’t just resort to recycling bacteria from chicken breast to chicken breast. We need a cleaner solution.

Wood vs. Plastic: Who’s Cleaner?

It’s another common misconception that plastic boards are naturally cleaner than wood ones. Studies have been done over the years to prove that one is better than the other, and you can probably find an article that backs you up either way. But then, how do we get down to the real truth? Let’s look at a few facts:

The traditional, thick plastic cutting board is actually less hygienic than a solid wood cutting board. Why? Because when you consistently cut on a plastic board, it begins to cut into the service, creating very thin ridges from the blade’s edge. This is where bacteria camps out in plastic boards, and it ends up harboring a lot of bacteria.

If you buy a solid wood board, it won’t create these same ridges, and the solid, yet porous surface will actually allow water to flow to much more of the affected areas—providing a deeper, more hygienic clean.

So when you’re considering your next cutting board, you may want to rethink plastic. While there’s research out there that says plastic is safe, the majority of the professional opinion these days says wood is the way to go.

While keeping your house clean may still require the maid cleaning services Deleware households love, it’s important that you know your stuff, so that you don’t have to worry about someone else getting it right for you—and when they do come and make sure everything’s clean, you know that they did the job right, and your family is safe with a good, clean cutting board.