In addition, slicing creates deep grooves within the plastic the place micro organism can linger, making used plastic slicing boards very troublesome to totally disinfect in a dishwasher. You actually have to make use of a brush to get into these grooves. So if you happen to do use a plastic shelf, choose to provide it a superb scrub your self as a substitute of placing it within the dishwasher.
In an older study5 from the University of Wisconsin, researchers positioned a number of micro organism, together with E. coli and Salmonella, on each used and new wood and plastic slicing boards. The wood slicing boards constantly outperformed the plastic boards when it comes to bacterial security. The ethical of the story? Wooden slicing boards might show to be extra hygienic than plastic ones, in addition to being higher in your hormonal well being (offered they do not use plastic-containing glue to stay the wood items collectively).
Some plastic slicing boards are additionally coated with antibacterial substances to forestall micro organism from rising, however this solely trades the bacterial development for different chemical substances, usually endocrine disruptors. A typical antibacterial chemical used for such functions is Microban, which accommodates the antibacterial ingredient triclosan6. The FDA does not recognize triclosan as safe due to his endocrine disrupting properties6. While triclosan has been phased out hand washing and disinfectants7it nonetheless lies in other everyday products– together with slicing boards.
Some folks additionally use robust chemical substances, equivalent to bleach diluted with water, to wash plastic slicing boards. That creates the terrifying risk of contaminating your meals with such chemical substances. If you’ve got ever put tomato or turmeric-rich meals in a plastic container, you may see it flip purple or yellow. This is as a result of the components have seeped into the matrix of the plastic. Harsh cleaners may also seep into your plate and doubtlessly contaminate the meals you chop on it.
