The microbiology of Plastic and wooden cutting boards was studied, regarding cross-contamination of foods in home kitchens. New and used Plastic (four polymers plus hard rubber) and wood (nine hardwoods) cutting boards were cut into 5-cm squares (“blocks”). Escherichia coli (two nonpathogenic strains plus type O157:H7), Listeria innocua, L. monocytogenes, or Salmonella typhimurium was applied to the 25-cm2 block surface in nutrient broth or chicken juice and recovered by soaking the surface in nutrient broth or pressing the block onto nutrient agar, within 3–10 min or up to ca. 12 h later. Bacteria inoculated onto Plastic blocks were readily recovered for minutes to hours and would multiply if held overnight. Recoveries from wooden blocks were generally less than those from plastic blocks, regardless of new or used status; differences increased with holding time. Clean wood blocks usually absorbed the inoculum completely within 3–10 min. If these fluids contained 103–104 CFU of bacteria likely to come from raw meat or poultry, the bacteria generally could not be recovered after entering the wood. If ≥106 CFU were applied, bacteria might be recovered from wood after 12 h at room temperature and high humidity, but numbers were reduced by at least 98%, and often more than 99.9%. Mineral oil treatment of the wood surface had little effect on the microbiological findings. These results do not support the often-heard assertion that Plastic cutting boards are more sanitary than wood.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
January 01 1994
Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with Bacteria
NESE O. AK;
NESE O. AK
1Food Research Institute (Department of Food Microbiology and Toxicology), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
2Department of Food Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Search for other works by this author on:
DEAN O. CLIVER;
DEAN O. CLIVER
1Food Research Institute (Department of Food Microbiology and Toxicology), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
3Department of Bacteriology; Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences; and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Food Virology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Search for other works by this author on:
CHARLES W. KASPAR
CHARLES W. KASPAR
1Food Research Institute (Department of Food Microbiology and Toxicology), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Search for other works by this author on:
J Food Prot (1994) 57 (1): 16–22.
Article history
Received:
June 23 1993
Citation
NESE O. AK, DEAN O. CLIVER, CHARLES W. KASPAR; Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with Bacteria. J Food Prot 1 January 1994; 57 (1): 16–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X-57.1.16
Download citation file: