"KGB" <FedUpWithSpam@NoEmailAddre.ss> (KGB) wrote in
news:427a66e1.9658808@nntp.dsl.pipex.com:
[color=blue]
> On 05 May 2005 06:55:00 GMT, "Peter.QLD" <a@b.c> wrote:
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>>"mark thomas" <marycoy4@execyulinky.comy> wrote in
>>news:kOqdnSnTCsJjB-TfRVn-tw@golden.net:
>>[color=darkred]
>>> Stupid question but...
>>>
>>> Why do the instructions say to use a plastic stirring spoon
>>> instead of a wooden one? Does it really matter?
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> --
>>> MT
>>>[/color]
>>Wood is a lot more porous (however you spell that) and could have
>>lots of bacteria etc. lurking where you can't wash them off. If
>>you're stirring boiling wort it probably doesn't matter.
>>
>>peter[/color]
>
> Hi
>
> I remember reading somewhere some time ago that in cooking, wooden
> chopping boards are more hygienic than plastic. Trying to confirm
> this, I found the following article taken from "The New York
> Times" regarding tests carried out by the University of
> Wisconsin's Food Research Institute.
>
> Quote:-
>
> "The scientists, Dean O.Cliver and Nese O. Ak, stumbled upon
> the
> finding while seeking ways to decontaminate wooden boards and make
> them as "safe" as plastic. Much to their surprise, they found that
> when boards were purposely contaminated with organisms like
> Salmonella, Listeria and E.coli that are common causes of food
> poisoning, 99.9 percent of the bacteria died off within three
> minutes on the wooden boards, while none died on the plastic ones.
>
> When contaminated boards were left unwashed overnight at room
> temperature, bacterial count, increased on the plastic, but none
> of the organisms could be recovered from the wooden boards the
> next morning.
>
> The researchers tested boards made from seven different species of
> trees and four types of plastic and found similar results: wood
> was safer than plastic, regardless of the materials used. Thus
> far, however, the researchers have been unable to isolate the
> agents in wood that make it so inhospitable to bacteria."
>
>
>
> OK, we are talking wooden chopping boards used in cookery here NOT
> wooden spoons used for brewing, but presumably the same thing
> holds good.
>[/color]
That's rather a good point, I'd forgotten about that. Though it's
worth noting that a plastic stirrer should be hard plastic that you
take care no to scratch. Unlike the plastic cutting boards that are
designed to be a bit softer and easier on your knives. That should
mean there's little room for anything to cling on/avoid the
sanitizer. But if wood kills anything infectious quickly, that's
better. Anyone care to guess at whether it could be expected to kill
wild yeasts?

peter