Chopping board hygiene

How to prevent a breeding ground for bacteria

The humble chopping board is one of the professional chef’s best friends. They’re also one of his worst enemies as they can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Banish the bacteria from your kitchen by following these simple food safety rules… 

• Cross contamination, the spread of germs around the kitchen, is one of the major causes of food poisoning.
• Never prepare ready-to-eat food on a chopping board that has been used for raw meat unless it has been thoroughly washed first.
• In professional kitchens, there’s a colour-coded chopping board for every job. Red for raw meat; green for salad and fruit; yellow for cooked meat, blue for raw fish and so on. You can’t be expected to have all of these at home, but why not invest in a couple of colour-coded boards to separate raw and cooked foods? 
• If your board is covered in scratches, buy a new one! Bacteria love to hide inside the grooves. 
• Choose plastic or acrylic chopping boards. Non-porous ones are easier to clean than wooden and less prone to scratching.
• Wash acrylic and plastic boards in the dishwasher. 
• Rinse your board with hot soapy water after each use then leave it to dry naturally. 
• Don’t dry your board with a tea towel. When it comes to cross-contamination, tea towels are guilty culprits. Paper towels are preferable.