Cutting boards are a must-have kitchen utensil for every family. The main function of the cutting board is to cut vegetables, cut meat, cut melons and fruits, etc. Therefore, cutting boards often come into close contact with our food.
However, studies have shown that the cutting board we use every day has hidden 200% more bacteria than the toilet!
The official microblog of the People's Daily once reported that a 1-year-old boy was treated at a hospital in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. The boy has been developing fever and vomiting for a week.
After examination by the doctor, it was found that the cause of these symptoms was due to the boy's infection with various parasites such as liver flukes. The cause of the infection was caused by the improper use of the cutting board.
How can a small cutting board become a shelter for bacteria and parasites?
In daily life, there are three main reasons for the growth of bacteria and parasites on the cutting board.
Bacteria in food
We all know that raw food generally carries bacteria, parasites, or parasitic eggs. When we put raw food on a cutting board, raw food will definitely come into direct contact with kitchen knives and cutting boards.
During this contact, the bacteria, parasites, or eggs on these raw foods will also attach to the kitchen knife and cutting board along with the food. Especially when mixing raw and cooked foods, the bacterial contamination on the cutting board is even more serious.
Cutting boards are used for too long
Most people have the idea that if the cutting board is not broken, there is no need to replace it with a new one. However, experimental studies have proved that the longer the cutting board is used, the more serious the growth of bacteria on it.
Improper cleaning
Many people, after using the cutting board, will put it under the tap and wash it with clean water. In this way, on the surface, the cutting board seems to have been cleaned. However, in places such as knife marks on the cutting board, there may be residue or bacteria accumulation, and these places are difficult to wash with clean water.
What kind of cutting board is less likely to breed bacteria?
There are four kinds of cutting boards commonly found on the market, including wood, bamboo, plastic, and synthetic, depending on the material. With so many kinds of cutting boards, which one is not easy to breed bacteria?
Wooden cutting board is a cutting board that is used by many people. The cutting board of this texture is generally harder and more practical for people who often need to cut and chop. However, if the wooden cutting board is not properly maintained, it is most likely to breed mold.
Bamboo cutting board is also a more popular cutting board. Its advantages are chopping resistance, low water absorption and mildew. However, the bamboo cutting board is easy to slip when used, and it is not conducive to the maintenance of the knife. Since the bamboo cutting board needs to be bonded with glue during the production process, the bamboo cutting board may have residual formaldehyde.
Plastic cutting board, the main raw materials are polyethylene and polypropylene. It is characterized by moderate hardness, light and convenient, and not easy to mold. However, plastic cutting boards without antibacterial ingredients are easy to breed bacteria, and they are easy to lose color, not wear-resistant, not easy to clean, and will fall off chips for a long time.
There are two main types of synthetic cutting boards, one is a plant fiber synthetic material cutting board, and the other is a fully synthetic material cutting board. The advantages of synthetic cutting boards are that they absorb less water, drop less chips, are friendly to knives, and are not easy to slip when cutting ingredients. Some synthetic cutting boards are also treated with anti-slip and antibacterial treatments. Its disadvantage is that the price is higher, it is only suitable for cutting vegetables and fruits, and it is not suitable for chopping and chopping operations.
Based on the above analysis, it is recommended that you can usually prepare three cutting boards. One is a good quality wooden cutting board for chopping and chopping meat ingredients. Prepare two mid-to-high-end synthetic resin cutting boards. One is specially used for cutting vegetables, fruits and other ingredients. The other is dedicated to cooked food.
After using the cutting board, how should it be cleaned?
Many people burn the cutting board with boiling water after using it, thinking that it can drive away the bacteria on the cutting board.
The method of scalding with boiling water may have a certain cleaning effect on the new cutting board. However, for the kind of cutting, scarred cutting board, the effect of this method is minimal.
The method of scalding boiling water can only disinfect the surface of the cutting board, and there is no way to eliminate the bacteria hidden in the scratches of the cutting board. When the cutting board temperature has cooled, these residual bacteria will continue to multiply.
In the "Food Safety Practice for Food Service", it is said that if you want to use boiling boiling water to sterilize, you need to last no less than 30 minutes to achieve the effect of eliminating bacteria.
It can be seen that if you just blanch it with boiling water, there is no way to drive away the bacteria on the cutting board.
So, after the cutting board is used, how to clean it, in order to play a role in sterilization?
First of all, after using the cutting board, we first squeeze the appropriate amount of dish soap on the cutting board, then wash it comprehensively and without dead ends, and then wash away the food residue on its surface with flowing water.
Then, use boiling water to blanch the front and back of the cutting board for about 10 to 30 seconds.
Then, wipe off the water stains on the cutting board with a clean kitchen towel and leave it in a ventilated place to dry.
If there is a dishwasher at home, you can also put the cutting board in the dishwasher regularly to clean, which can also achieve a good cleaning and sterilization effect.
Finally, once again, I would like to remind everyone that it is for the sake of the health of your family. When we use cutting boards, raw and cooked foods must be separated so that bacteria in raw meat are not transferred to other foods through the cutting board.