Food Research Inst., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Food safety publications often recommend that plastic rather than Wood Butcher Block cutting boards be used, for greater safety in homes, restaurants, butcher shops, and food processing. The concern is that disease-causing bacteria from meat or poultry will soak into the wood board and later contaminate other foods that are cut on the same surface. We have found no earlier research that supports this concern. In fact we have found that bacteria recoveries from wooden blocks were generally less than those from plastic blocks. Follow the link below for the whole report.