I have a large end grain board made from a combination of woods. Part teak, cherry, walnut, maple I think. I use that thing to death multiple times a day. We keep it out, wipe it down, sanitize it; and use it again. Whether or not it would be worth the extra $100 to you I cannot answer. To me? Yes... it would be worth it. I tend to look at things in the long term. How long am I going to use the item and how often.

I have one of those $$$ 4" thick Boos chopping blocks. Is it better than a cheaper board? No. They both do the same job. But I wanted it so I spent the money.

I use plastic cutting boards for meat/fish because they can go straight into the DW. My other cutting board for vegies was free. My DS made it in grade 8 and he is now 25. I have forgotten what it is made of but it is 2" thick and 11"x22". I wash it down and sanitize every day and oil it every once in a while. That thing is a work horse and the best cutting board I have ever had. I'm not sure that $ matters.

Cutting meat on plastic? Eww. Gross.

In addition to our laboratory research on this subject, we learned after arriving in California in June of 1995 that a case-control study of sporadic salmonellosis had been done in this region and included cutting boards among many risk factors assessed (Kass, P.H., et al., Disease determinants of sporadic salmonellosis in four northern California counties: a case control study of older children and adults. Ann. Epidemiol. 2:683-696, 1992.). The project had been conducted before our work began. It revealed that those using wooden cutting boards in their home kitchens were less than half as likely as average to contract salmonellosis (odds ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.22-0.81), those using synthetic (plastic or glass) cutting boards were about twice as likely as average to contract salmonellosis (O.R. 1.99, C.I. 1.03-3.85); and the effect of cleaning the board regularly after preparing meat on it was not statistically significant (O.R. 1.20, C.I. 0.54-2.68). We know of no similar research that has been done anywhere, so we regard it as the best epidemiological evidence available to date that wooden cutting boards are not a hazard to human health, but plastic cutting boards may be.

And through PubMed Small plastic cutting boards can be cleaned in a dishwasher (as can some specially treated wooden boards), but the dishwasher may distribute the bacteria onto other food-contact surfaces. Most small wooden boards (i.e., those with no metal joiners in them) can be sterilized in a microwave oven, but this should be unnecessary if accumulation of food residues is prevented. However, 2 epidemiological studies seem to show that cutting board cleaning habits have little influence on the incidence of sporadic salmonellosis. Further, one of these studies indicated that use of plastic cutting boards in home kitchens is hazardous, whereas use of wooden cutting boards is not.

Bottom line: cutting meat on plastic makes you sick, DW or no.

Separate issue: What's the point of true end-grain butcher block in a kitchen? I can see getting it because it looks cool, but what's its function? How often to you hack off a chine with a meat cleaver? Any good cutting board will do for simple cutting.

I have a bunch of different size, relatively thin, cheap wood boards. I use a couple as "raw meat only". Had them for years, they work great. While I love the look, I've stayed away from the bigger, thicker ones. Not for cost reasons, but because they seem so unwieldy and heavy to wash and dry and hold over the pot/skillet to slide the chopped stuff in. I guess if you have one of those big ones, you don't do that? Or maybe I just need to work on my upper body strength, LOL!

For cleaning, I just scrub hard with soap and water and rinse. I'll add a splash of white vinegar and let sit for few minutes before a final rinse, only if I've been cutting raw meat.

A pathologist friend's always being asked what cleaner and materials to use to make hospital surfaces cleaner, and his answer is always that a good scrub is the factor that will make the difference. Elbow grease.

That cutting meat on plastic makes you sick is NOT the bottom line. Silly stuff. The 1984 study quoted was a real big deal at the time and very welcome (I remember!) because wood had been recommended against on an untested assumption that it would be harder to keep safely clean, and this study has been quoted ever since. Its assumption, however, was that both wood and plastic would be hand washed; and as we all know, washing with nice warm soapy sponges and dishcloths is a terrific way to spread germs and grow lots of little baby germs. That plastics could be routinely tossed in the DW after every use wasn't considered. Since cuts on plastics aren't self-healing like wood and become harder over time to hand wash adequately, wood was recommended. That wood can be sanded down when damaged was considered; that damaged plastics can easily be tossed and replaced was not considered.

Although home dishwashers don't normally rise to sterilizing temps, they're still an excellent way to wash cutting boards, plastic or special-treated wood. Popping the boards into the DW is one of the cleaning methods the FDA recommends--and by FAR the fastest and easiest one. The DW gives plastic the more scrupulous cleaning a used surface needs, with, frankly, a lot more "elbow grease" than most hand washings involve. That's why our pathologist friend pushes scrubbing at every opportunity--he knows most people aren't scrubbing nearly long and hard enough to do the job. I know that most of us really don't want to, either. :)

Now, a real argument on behalf of plastics in the kitchen: cross-contamination. This occurs to some degree every day as we work, and this is where a set of plastics can be very valuable. The FDA recommends using more than one cutting board, preferably designated for use, specifically to prevent spreading pathogens, but just how many Boos do you want to be hauling to the sink and back to...wherever you keep them, after the bleach treatments, etc.?

A sensible approach (and sensible approaches are especially useful in kitchens) for those who want a handsome wood board would be to use it for one type of food and to also keep a few plastics for other jobs, using only one board of either type for meats. Plastics're very fast and effective for a sanitary cleanup, too. Make a sandwich on one, including slicing the tomato, and just carry the entire mess generated to the sink and DW. No soapy dishcloth involved.

No matter what board you get, the key is keeping it well oiled. Even an expensive board will be trashed quickly if you don't take care of it. Do a search for beeswax and mineral oil rubs that you can easily make yourself. And the bonus is that your hands will never be softer :-)

Sorry, Kay, I just remembered your actual post! You want a smooth surface that won't trap food is all. After that you're paying for appearance and whatever. Plan on sanding down occasionally, but even a thin lightweight one would probably last you for decades. The (?) 3/4" pull-out cutting board in our old bungalow was 50 years old when we came along and good for at least another 50, although I doubt it had had many sandings. It was probably maple.

Its assumption, however, was that both wood and plastic would be hand washed; and as we all know, washing with nice warm soapy sponges and dishcloths is a terrific way to spread germs and grow lots of little baby germs. That plastics could be routinely tossed in the DW after every use wasn't considered.

Read what I posted, rosie. This is not based on one study, and other studies confirm that throwing plastic cutting boards in the dishwasher has no effect on the higher rate of food-borne illness among those who use plastic cutting boards in their home. The DW is just cleanliness theater. It doesn't work.

Bleach treatments? The studies have specifically shown that such things are unnecessary on wood.

It is not all about temperature in a DW.

The chlorine in the detergent is very effective.

No, it isn't. Speculation does out outweigh data.

Unfortunately there is not a cochrane report on cutting board materials and food safety. This site supplies what seems to me to be a balanced discussion, concluding that there is no clear synthetic versus wood/bamboo winner: http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/health-safety/cutting-board-safety.aspx

Their conclusions for cleaning cutting boards are relevant for home cooks:

"As with any piece of restaurant equipment, proper cleaning and sanitizing is the only guaranteed way to combat food borne illnesses. Here are some simple cleaning and sanitizing procedures to follow in order to decrease food contamination.

If possible, have dedicated cutting boards for raw meats and vegetables. Cooking kills germs in meat, but vegetables are often served raw and can be contaminated with bacteria from meat juices if the same board is used for each.

After each use, scrub the cutting board with hot, soapy water. A commercial dishwasher may be used but can damage wood boards.

Do not leave the cutting boards in standing water, which facilitates bacterial growth.

Periodically sanitize plastic cutting boards with a chlorine solution of 1 tablespoon per quart of water, or a vinegar/water solution (1 to 3 ratio) for wood boards. Spray the surface and allow to sit for several minutes, rinse with clean water and air dry.

Allow the cutting board to dry completely; bacteria will die after a few hours when deprived of moisture and heat.

Store the cutting board in a dry place and away from raw foods to avoid contamination."

Note: bacteria in crevices will live on long after those on the surface die from lack of moisture and exposure to heat which is why the recommendation is to sand (wood) or discard (synthetics) with damaged surfaces.

I think I'll continue with my current practices wrt cutting boards as over 30 years of cooking for my family as yet to produce a case of salmonella or other food poisoning.

To those of you citing studies about dirty cutting boards - those pictures of the Cuban kitchens must fill you with the screaming memees - what with the peeling paint (probably containing lead), the improper wiring, the dirt floor, rusty appliances, chicken (live) in the kitchen, the toilet (no lid) right beside the stove etc.

This argument reminds me of the situation where a kid falls off the monkey bars at the playground and breaks his arm and the parents then insist on having the playground dismantled because it isn't safe. Perhaps the kid was just a klutz and not being careful.

It's exactly the opposite of that, blfenton.

Here, you are the one using a personal anecdote to say that plastic cutting boards are safe, where it's statistics collected from large groups of people that say they are not, despite the method of washing them.

And are you saying there isn't a much higher incidence of food-borne illness in the developing world--that lack of soap and refrigeration is just "fine?" Of course you're not.

Don't' worry. Nobody is going to march into your kitchen and take away your plastic. Promise!

But people have to stop saying, "You can put plastic in the DW" as if that is the final and ultimate answer to the question. It is not.

I have a cheap-o wood cutting board that I've had since college, 15 years ago. It was probably from Wally World. I've abused it, and it is almost always washed in the dishwasher. (My earliest apartments didn't have dishwashers, so when I finally got one, I put *everything* in it. I know better now!)

Anyway, the board is a little warped, and about 5 years ago it split. But, we still use it almost daily, and it works great! I imagine that with better care, it would still be in good shape, but as is, it does fine.

One day I will replace it with a nicer one...

I'm going to side with Marcolo on the whole plastic vs. wood argument for cutting boards. UC Davis did a lot of well controlled studies looking at what happens to various types of cutting surfaces when exposed to a range of food borne critters. I believe it's the work that Marcolo referenced above. Anyways, in reading the papers and the synopsis given at the link provided below, I�m sold.

The short story is that when the boards were contaminated under identical conditions, the plastic boards routinely had 10x the bacteria on the surface as wood boards after standing for 3 minutes. If the boards were left overnight, the plastic boards had 1000x to 10,000x the number of bacteria on them. The plastic boards had to be scrubbed and soaked in a hot 25% bleach solution to get them clean. Or autoclaved.

Food for thought!

Here's a free link to one of the papers.

http://www.treenshop.com/Treenshop/ArticlesPages/SafetyOfCuttingBoards_Article/CliverArticle.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis cutting board work

Here's a quote from the UC Davis paper: "Mechanical cleaning with a dishwashing machine can be done successfully with plastic surfaces (even if knife-scarred) and wooden boards especially made for this."

This older study attempted to replicate home conditions, and this is one of the conclusions they reached. The FDA agrees with it these days too.

I saw that statement in the synopsis too. I can't tell if they mean that one must first scrub the board with soapy water then go into the dishwasher or if they meant "mechanical" as in it just goes right into the dishwasher. Also it would be important to know what kind of cycle times and temperatures were used in the washer to get the boards clean.

I'm not anti-plastic, but using them appears to be little more complicated and risky than one would think.

I am now becoming fascinated by the strange determination to ignore this statement even though it appears in both articles cited:

However, 2 epidemiological studies seem to show that cutting board cleaning habits have little influence on the incidence of sporadic salmonellosis. Further, one of these studies indicated that use of plastic cutting boards in home kitchens is hazardous, whereas use of wooden cutting boards is not.

In other words, regardless of how boards test up in the lab, in the real world, people who use plastic cutting boards got salmonella more often regardless of how they cleaned them.

Is there a magic number of times that this statement must be repeated before it registers?

All I'm saying is that I personally have never had a problem. Who knows why - but I haven't. Maybe the luck of the draw.

Two recent research articles (abstracts below). Seems to me bacteria grow best on plastic cutting boards, but it is also easier to clean off the bacteria than on wood cutting boards.

Transfer of Salmonella Enteritidis to four types of surfaces after cleaning procedures and cross-contamination to tomatoes.

Food Microbiology

Volume 30, Issue 2, June 2012, Pages 453�456

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the spread of Salmonella Enteritidis to different cuttingboards (wood, triclosan-treated plastic, glass, and stainless steel) from contaminated poultry skin (5 log CFU/g) and then to tomatoes and to analyze the effect of different protocols used to clean these surfaces to control contamination. The following procedures were simulated: (1) no cleaning after handling contaminated poultry skin; (2) rinsing in running water; (3) cleaning with dish soap and mechanical scrubbing; and (4) cleaning with dish soap and mechanical scrubbing, followed by disinfection with hypochlorite. The pathogen was recovered from all surfaces following procedure 1, with counts ranging from 1.90 to 2.80 log, as well as from the tomatoes handled on it. Reduced numbers of S. Enteritidis were recovered using the other procedures, both from the surfaces and from the tomatoes. Counts were undetectable after procedure 4. From all surfaces evaluated, wood was the most difficult to clean, and stainless steel was the easiest. The use of hypochlorite as a disinfecting agent helped to reduce cross-contamination.

and

An Evaluation of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Survival on Five Environmental Surfaces .

Microbial Drug Resistance. September 2011, 17(3): 457-461

This study evaluated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) survival on environmental surfaces: glass, wood, vinyl, plastic, and cloth. Effects of relative humidity (RH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were examined. Surfaces were inoculated with 107�108 colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml)of MRSA with and without 1% BSA and incubated at 35�C at 45%�55% and 16% RH. Surfaces were sampled, and each collected sample was re-suspended in phosphate buffer, spread plated, and incubated at 35�C for 24 hrs; resulting colonies were enumerated. Samples were collected immediately on drying, and at 3âÂÂhrs, 24âÂÂhrs, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, and 5 days. Results demonstrated that MRSA survived the longest on plastic and vinyl and for the least amount of time on wood (pâÂÂ

So bacteria doesn't live as long on wood vs plastic. Why?

I remember when the first study was conducted...radio report. There was someone working for a state extension service, if I recall correctly, who was re-doing a state pamphlet and read the line saying that wooden cutting boards were unsanitary. The person asked others as to the source of this "information" and no one could verify its origin. So they tried some experiments.

At the time of the surprising results showing no particular reason for distrusting wooden cutting surfaces--including "veteran" boards with abraded surfaces (their terminology)--there was propounded a theory that wood actually has anti-bacterial properties, but I think that this theory has subsequently been debunked. It was fun to think they were correct, though. Somehow seemed to redeem natural products from the scourge of modernistic onslaught in the post-hippie period.

I think that this whole business occurred roughly in the period of time when extremely "veteran" old cutting blocks from butcher shops were coming to market as funky household decor, perhaps late 1970s or early 1980s? Since that time, plastic cutting surfaces have indeed come under more scrutiny than had occurred previously. Because I dislike plastics in the home generally, I like using wood.

In my household, we have two "no meat, no garlic, no onions" pull-out boards and two "anything goes" ones. Most of the time I merely swab them off with the soapy rag from the sink and then leave them extended until they are very dry. Then I slide them back into their niches. If we do not pound meat on them, they will last for many years. If we do use a meat pounder on them, we turn them over after their surface is too badly abraded. In time we will have to replace the pounded boards.

I usually wash meats before bringing them to a cutting board, although DH isn't always as careful. I don't think that the foods I cut on wood are a problem for family food safety as long as we keep the surfaces clean and dry when not in use. Bigger problem in my household is the residual flour & crumbs that migrate into the frame of the pullout baking board and the sandwich station board--these can attract insects. Occasionally I pull out the drawers below as well as the board and do a real cleanup inside there.

I suspect that a clean cook is the best explanation for a disease-free menu. The evil little bacteria begin to grow when meats are bagged or otherwise given an incubater environment. The longer that bagged meat remains uncooked, the more like the meat juice is to be contaminated. Removing the meat from the bag might be the most likely bacteria-spreading activity. Open the bag over the sink but not over the washrag. Rinse the meat and leave it in sink until brought elsewhere. Put meat wrappers directly into trash--never let them lay about anywhere, including sink or countertop or cutting board.

"So bacteria doesn't live as long on wood vs plastic. Why?"

Tress deposit compounds (generally called 'extractives')in the dead heartwood that color it and make it more decay resistant.

The sapwood does not normally contain the extractives at the higher level of the heartwood, thus the color difference in many hardwoods.

The decay resistance is thought to also provide at least some resistance to various bacteria.

Plastic has no such compounds present.

While the plastic will not nourish the bacteria, it also has nothing that can kill them.

Detailed tests are almost always valued more than epidemiological data.

It may be that the study group in a particular area has the same habits, and that can 'color' the epidemiological data.

Actually simulating household kitchen use, like running things through a typical residential DW, using typical detergents, and then culturing with microscopic examination of the surface should provide a more reliable measure of process effectiveness.

Just looking at how many times people in a particular area got sick is not nearly as reliable.

I used to use wood but now I use plastic cutting boards exclusively. We come from hardy stock though!! It takes a lot to make us sick. :)

Seriously, I do believe that plastic is more apt to be contaminated than wood when both are subject to the exact same conditions. Trouble is, I never did subject them to the same conditions myself. Of course the wood board never went into the dishwasher. And I wasn't all that super-religious about cleaning it with boiling hot water, and I certainly never bleached it. We never got sick anyway (hardy stock here again). But bottom line, I bet the plastic boards I use now are just as clean, if not cleaner, than the wood cutting board I personally used to use. And at about 1/10th of the work.

I do have one just for meats, and a separate one for non-meat products. I don't feel comfortable cutting fresh fruit, or anything else that won't ultimately be cooked, on the meat cutting board, dishwasher-cleaned or not.

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. Didn't mean set off a firestorm:-)

Marcolo: I've seen some testing that shows plastic seems "cleaner" to start with, but over 24 hours or so, the inherent properties in wood show much better results on any trace germs left behind. I had NOT heard about DWs spreading germs to other items. Makes sense, but yuk!

Our upper peninsula countertop is a long slab of Boos maple. I think we'll turn any leftovers into small, manageable cutting surfaces for on the island and use less weighty boards in other areas.

We do have a couple of chicken- or meat-only plastic mats that are easy to sanitize (but rarely used to-date). The bigger plastic board has to go anyway... too many cuts marks now.

I can't find the post, but thanks for reminding me of the 25 year-old wooden, school shop projects I've never used... sneakers and a dog:-) A little sanding and they will work beautifully.

Thanks again everyone. Lots of good info... as always!

I hope someone will pipe in with answers to your other question--if you're using a wooden cutting board, are the more expensive ones worth it? I understand buying for the beauty but it's hard to know if there's a functional advantage.

Germ issue aside, I'll restate my post from waaaaaay back. :) I don't think it makes a hoot if difference, functionally. If you are tight on budget and aesthetics don't matter, save your money and get a cheaper board. I have a few of those too. An expensive cutting board will not make your food taste any better than a cheap cutting board if both are handled the same way.

Back to cleaning for a moment. I keep my gigantic Boos block on my counter all the time. I clean it a couple of ways. It ranges from my dad's old school method of salt and a little water to form a paste, to a disinfecting kitchen spray, to just plain water, depending on what I'm doing. I try to coordinate my tasks and prep veggies and other less prone foods first followed by meats. I also keep a couple of cutting mats handy in case I have to go out of order for any reason and I haven't had a chance to sanitize the block. I also have a cheaper wood carving board that I reserve for carving/cutting cooked foods for service. It's one of those C&B ones that are reversible and have channels for the juices. I always sanitize my chopping block if the block has been used for meats or any foods that are typically prone to germies. I have no problems or worries preparing cold lunches on that block for my five year old the next morning.

Back to cutting board value... ;)

Seems the price is often a factor of the wood and construction method. End grain and smaller peices mean more labor and more $$$. Exotic wood cost more $$$. Most is based on looks.

You want to make sure what ever you get was constructed with straight lumber, glued with the right type of glue with good coverage, and clamped and allowed to dry adequately. However most of that you can't tell by looking at the product.

My Ikea butcher block counter had one seam that didn't get adequate glue. Looked fine upon inspection, but after cutting part off, we discovered a section in the middle wasn't glued and started to open up. The Boos counter top has developed a crack in one of the boards on the underside (this is not a seam problem. I should take it off and glue and clamp before it gets worse. That one has only mineral oil applies.

The end grain cutting boards I used as a temporarily island top ended up wanting to cup after time, and one opened up along one seam line. Those cost $36 a piece, and they were small.

I have a nice cutting board that is face grain, and I've had it for years and years and a few of the joints are opening up at the edges, but overall I think it's given me the best value. I know I didn't pay much for it as I was poor at the time.

The one I liked the best was the pine one my DH made for temporay use for the round island. That held up very well, but he cut the boards and made sure they were well glued and clamped.

I would think that getting one that was made for you where a person hand selected the wood for grain/trueness and then made sure there was good glue in all joints would be your best bet. Have no idea what that would cost, but anything that goes through an automated process is subject to more problems.

I once ordered something where the sample was clear and looked really good. When I got the items, one had a big knot in a very conspicuous location. Supplier said they never claimed to hand select the lumber and knots could be expected. It was coincidental the sample they chose to display was one with no knots at all.

"I had NOT heard about DWs spreading germs to other items."

They probably failed to add detergent.

It DOES kill things.

Some DWs have more issues than others. Like ones that leave a pool of water in the bottom between cycles. (Yuck!)

I'm actually with Blfenton about the importance of the plastic v. wood issue. Really not much of one.

One thing we need to keep in mind if worried about this is our own cleaning habits. There probably isn't 1 in 10 visitors to this forum who keeps his or her cutting board to the standards recommended in these reports.

Doubt that? Next time you're in a nice public restroom, linger and observe the hand-washing of the nicely groomed people coming through. Don't waste time counting those who wash for a whole, vigorous 20 seconds so so, but maybe see how many spend half that. If won't be most, for sure. I'm big on hand washing and do notice, which is why I always use a paper towel to open the door.

Another significant point for those who do care. I'd take my old pull-out maple board back in a second if I could. I loved that thing then and even more in retrospect. HOWEVER, it takes, what? a day or two, something like that, for wood to kill off most of the organisms it's sucked down into its tissues? We use ours at least twice a day, sometimes more.

To get the germicidal benefit of wood over plastic, we would need 2 sets of boards, alternating them each day or whatever the period is, to give each enough time to finish the disinfecting it doesn't get with the typical initial hand wash. (Yeah, sure.)

Again, wood's great. My counters and island top are all wood. I'd use either material without hesitation, but which will stay cleaner will depend very much on the owner's habits. 99% of my own choice arises from the fact that I'm both lazy and constitutionally unthrilled by housekeeping, and plastic passes the "will it go in the dishwasher?" test. :)

Well after reading all this I am tossing my blemished polypropylene board away. I do have another that is perfect and a wood one.

I put straight bleach into a spray bottle and spray away. It freshens sponges very nicely as well as plastic cutting boards. After you let the sprayed plastic cutting boards sit out overnight, then pop into the dw. The bleach whitens the cutting marks on the cutting boards. That's it.

I use wood for cutting bread. Often, I use paper plates for cutting meats. Yes it's yucky and tears, but nobody dies.

End grain butcher blocks are used because they, 1)possibly keep the knife sharper 2) the cuts into the board show less 3) they may absorb more liquid and have a slightly greater bacteria killing quality. Just speculation on my part.

But the fibers of the wood are running vertical, so the knife is not cutting the wood fibers, - imagine a hair brush with the bristles facing upward. If you place a comb deep into the bristles, the bristles just sort of move out of the way, the comb hasn't 'cut' anything.

If you've ever chopped on a wood tree stump, or just chopped wood, you usually stand it up and chop down through the end of the grain and wood fibers, and split the wood.
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Edge grain are the long narrow sides of a standard plank, turned to face up and will have tighter lines of grain showing. It's also used occasionally on butcher blocks.

And then some butcher block are standard face grain.
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Quarter-sawn, are planks that are cut from the tree like long wedges from the trunk (the way you would cut a wedge of cake or pie) of the tree and then made into planks. The grain of the wood will look like edge grain only it will be on the face of the plank.