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Cutting board sanitation

a.william.martin

I have a wooden butcher block that I use for vegetables. I've always used a plastic cutting board for meat (one that I run through the dishwasher), because I thought it was more sanitary. It seems that evidence suggests that a wooden cutting board may actually be better for this. My question is, can I use the same cutting board for both and use diluted beach solution for cleaning after chopping meat?

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Comments

Chris_Young_80640

The answer is that yes, this can be done in a sanitary way by ensuring that you use a suitable sanitizer to clean the cutting board between uses. Use a 0.4% bleach solution, wipe it on a cutting board after cleaning with soap and hot water, and then allow to air dry.

specialk22tt

What's the efficacy of full strength vinegar?

matthew.snyder77

Also remember you can flip the board before cleaning it so you can use one side for raw meats and such and the other side for produce. That way you don't have to take ten minutes out of your prep to wash and dry the board before moving on.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

Just make sure you prep vege first not meat.

Chris_Young_80640

@Kevin Vinegar is nowhere near good enough to sanitize a surface. And you would be surprised what can survive a bleach solution for a while.

specialk22tt

@Chris I might have to change my ways I suppose.

I vaguely remember something about a stored bleach solution degrades over time. Any insight into this claim? Thanks again.

seijoed

Do these studies still hold? http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

Chris_Young_80640

@Johan — So far as I know, those studies still hold. It's one of the many reasons we really like to work on wood cutting boards.

@Kevin — Yes, an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite does decompose into chlorate and oxygen. But it's fairly slow. According to this article, Chlorox aims to maintain a 6% concentration for a 6 month shelf life at room temperature.

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2013/03/31/chlorine-bleach-shelf-life.htm

seijoed

@Chris - mine too, just confirming!

specialk22tt

@Chris @Johan - As always, thanks for the great info.