[color=blue]
>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.
>
>Regards
>
>
>
>KGB[/color]

Thanks for this! I remember reading not long ago that wood absorbs
bacteria but doesn't release it. Apparently the organisms get trapped
in the wood's cells.