I have always opted for a wooden chopping board, simply for esthetic reasons, but at some point I was rather concerned about germs that may remain in the wood. The reason for this was perhaps the fact that new plastic cutting boards were advertised on TV, trying to convince everyone that plastic was better because it is non-porous.

Then I started reading and investigating and surprisingly enough, a wooden board is no harm to you. Wood cutting boards are actually better not only for your knifes but hygiene too ...

Myth 1 - wooden boards are so porous that harmful organisms such as salmonella, e-coli and listeria soak in, are hard to remove, and easily contaminate other foods placed upon it later.

Myth 2 -plastic, because it is not porous, can be more easily and safely cleaned.

The fact is that although everyone believed those myths are true, including health officials, no one actually tested them until 1993.

I read that Microbiologists at the University of Wisconsin's Food Research Institute contaminated wooden cutting boards and plastic ones with all bacteria that cause food poisoning.

What happened?

Without washing or touching the boards, the bacteria on the wooden board died off in three minutes. On the plastic board the bacteria not only remained but actually multiplied overnight.

It seems wood has a natural bacteria-killing property, which plastic does not.

Anyway, this doesn't mean you have to rush off to the shop to buy a wooden chopping board. As long as you wash the plastic with anti-bacterial cleaner, you are pretty safe