{"title":"Hygienic Evaluation of Wooden Cutting Boards: Microbiological Parameters.","authors":"Anja Bischoff, Thomas Alter, Antje Schönknecht","doi":"10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100576","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The suitability of wood as a traditional material for crafting cutting boards for food preparation has long been a topic of debate. Central to this discussion are concerns about the hygienic properties of wood, primarily due to its porous structure and hygroscopic nature. These characteristics raise concerns about the potential retention of microorganisms within the wood, making them inaccessible to standard cleaning and disinfection methods. Consequently, there is a risk of these bacteria being released back to the wood surface, posing a threat of food recontamination. However, there is research that has shed new light on this issue by suggesting that wood can possess bactericidal properties leading to reduced microbiological loads compared to plastic cutting boards. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the behavior of various microorganisms on professional cutting boards made from sugar maple wood compared to those made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The cutting boards were inoculated with 4.7 log<sub>10</sub> cfu/ cm<sup>2</sup>. In the trials, maple cutting boards exhibited a significant reduction in E. coli detection rates to the detection limit of 1.7 log<sub>10</sub> cfu/ cm<sup>2</sup> after just two hours, even without cleaning. While S. aureus showed delayed reduction on the cutting board surfaces, HDPE boards presented overall higher detection rates compared to those made of sugar maple wood. Based on these findings, a re-evaluation of wood's hygiene status in the food sector is required.</p>","PeriodicalId":15903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of food protection","volume":" ","pages":"100576"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of food protection","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100576","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The suitability of wood as a traditional material for crafting cutting boards for food preparation has long been a topic of debate. Central to this discussion are concerns about the hygienic properties of wood, primarily due to its porous structure and hygroscopic nature. These characteristics raise concerns about the potential retention of microorganisms within the wood, making them inaccessible to standard cleaning and disinfection methods. Consequently, there is a risk of these bacteria being released back to the wood surface, posing a threat of food recontamination. However, there is research that has shed new light on this issue by suggesting that wood can possess bactericidal properties leading to reduced microbiological loads compared to plastic cutting boards. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the behavior of various microorganisms on professional cutting boards made from sugar maple wood compared to those made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The cutting boards were inoculated with 4.7 log10 cfu/ cm2. In the trials, maple cutting boards exhibited a significant reduction in E. coli detection rates to the detection limit of 1.7 log10 cfu/ cm2 after just two hours, even without cleaning. While S. aureus showed delayed reduction on the cutting board surfaces, HDPE boards presented overall higher detection rates compared to those made of sugar maple wood. Based on these findings, a re-evaluation of wood's hygiene status in the food sector is required.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Food Protection® (JFP) is an international, monthly scientific journal in the English language published by the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). JFP publishes research and review articles on all aspects of food protection and safety. Major emphases of JFP are placed on studies dealing with:
Tracking, detecting (including traditional, molecular, and real-time), inactivating, and controlling food-related hazards, including microorganisms (including antibiotic resistance), microbial (mycotoxins, seafood toxins) and non-microbial toxins (heavy metals, pesticides, veterinary drug residues, migrants from food packaging, and processing contaminants), allergens and pests (insects, rodents) in human food, pet food and animal feed throughout the food chain;
Microbiological food quality and traditional/novel methods to assay microbiological food quality;
Prevention of food-related hazards and food spoilage through food preservatives and thermal/non-thermal processes, including process validation;
Food fermentations and food-related probiotics;
Safe food handling practices during pre-harvest, harvest, post-harvest, distribution and consumption, including food safety education for retailers, foodservice, and consumers;
Risk assessments for food-related hazards;
Economic impact of food-related hazards, foodborne illness, food loss, food spoilage, and adulterated foods;
Food fraud, food authentication, food defense, and foodborne disease outbreak investigations.