A clip from a 2020 episode of the quiz show QI was recently reshared and people have been left stunned after learning a surprising fact about chopping boards.
Hosted by Sandi Toksvig the high-brow quiz featured a selection of questions on the subject of restaurants with comedians Alan Davies, Phill Jupitus, Sara Pascoe, and Mark Watson there to answer. The clip featured a particular query about how best to prepare food. Sandi asked: “To prevent bacteria, what should your chopping board be made of?”
Quick to answer, Sara replied: “Wood. For ages they thought the plastic ones were better, people thought that wood has these little grooves and bacteria would go in there and live and multiply but then they actually found out that plastic was much worse.”
Confirming that this was the correct answer, Sandi then explained that 99.9% of the bacteria that is added to a wooden chopping board has disappeared within three minutes, whereas on a plastic one, it’s all still there.
She added: “One good thing about plastic chopping boards is that they can be put in the dishwasher and heated up but the most important is to wash them and replace them when they get a bit knackered.”
If you were under the impression that plastic chopping boards, with their wipe-clean surfaces, would be more hygienic than wooden alternatives, you’re not alone. Reacting to the clip, one person responded: “I was NOT aware of this.” And someone else added: “qi never fails to be surprisingly informative.”
A study by the University of Wisconsin study discovered that bacteria, including salmonella, did not survive on wooden cutting boards when left overnight but did on plastic ones. In fact, it didn’t just survive but thrived and multiplied.
In addition to being a better surface for using knives on, wood also possesses anti-microbial properties that draw in bacteria, and prevent it from reproducing.
To keep your wooden chopping board clean make sure to wash it thoroughly with hot water and soap before preparing food, dry with a cloth rather than leave to air dry, and don’t stack wet boards together as this can cause mould.