Wood or plastic? which board material is better for meat cutting?

Many ask us about this and many are confused about their options in meat cutting hygiene and practices, thinking does it really even matter? Well, we are here to put all those doubts and questions to rest with our Grand Peaks Prime Meats weekly blog!

Wood or Plastic? Which board material is better for meat cutting?

Many ask us about this and many are confused about their options in meat cutting hygiene and practices, thinking does it really even matter? Well, we are here to put all those doubts and questions to rest with our Grand Peaks Prime Meats weekly blog! Wood or plastic? The debate seems to be never-ending with supporters on both sides, so why choose one over the other? Because we’re going to show you how it is important for your health.

After the recent study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it was concluded that wood is a far better and healthier choice when it comes to meat cutting or generally any type of cutting in the kitchen. So, here how the microbiologists, Dean Cliver and Nese Ak conducted the research leading up to the final results.

The first step was to make sure that both the wood and plastic cutting boards were exposed to the same amount of germs and microorganisms which are commonly in contact with our meat. They cultured some of the common ones like Salmonella, Listeria and E-coli. Then exposed them to the surfaces of both boards. After leaving them for three minutes, about 99.9% of the bacteria were unrecoverable and presumed dead on the wood board and by the next morning they couldn’t recover any live bacteria. While the plastic boards were thriving germ farms. Even after repeating the process in various temperatures, the results remained the same by the end of the three-day-long research procedure with wooden boards being able to kill off germs within hours and plastic boards being unable to do so.

So, here you have it. After years of debate on the subject, we finally have results with concrete evidence. Now you can explore your options for which wood to use and which company to go for by easily looking up on the internet. Stay healthy and happy cooking!