Wood chopping boards are actually not teeming with bacteria.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X2...

Wood blocks, you put knives in like this:

https://boutiquedelabalayeuse.com/products/bloc-a-couteaux-p...

They're exceptionally popular in many places. It's not like people wash the holes, some are decades old. And at no point did I say they were 'teeming' with bacteria, I used it as an example of a thing not cleaned.

It's not like stainless is teeming with bacteria either, espcially when you rinse a knife off. It's far less porous and craggily than those wooden blocks after a decade of use.

The logic is simple; compare these things to other actions. Otherwise it's all show and theatre to make one feel good, like the TSA.

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NicuCalcea 3 days ago | parent [-]

It's not about cleaning, wood has antibacterial properties, it sucks the moisture out of bacteria and kills them. That's true for both wood chopping boards and blocks. There is plenty of literature about it: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266676572...

> And at no point did I say they were 'teeming' with bacteria

Is this not a direct quote from your previous comment: "I assure you the wooden block people use, is teeming with bacteria"?

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bbarnett 3 days ago | parent [-]

Apparently so, re: teeming.

But the problem isn't just wood, it's also long term dirt accumulation. And this study is absolutely not validation of your point, stating "Despite the many investigations on the topic, the antibacterial activity of wood is far from fully understood", while also saying different species, and hard vs softwood all have different tested effectiveness.

This is also about dry wood, yet I've seen countless people put their knifes away wet/damp. Some of these blocks rarely have time to dry.

I've also seen mould growing on soap, damp debris, and these are things which end up in the block's slots... never washed or cleaned.

I'm not saying don't use them, I'm saying it's silly to wash frying pans with soap, or vegetables only use knives with soap. Not needed.

	▲	NicuCalcea 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Just because I can't have my cooking utensils sterile 100% of the time doesn't mean I can't put minimal effort into reducing the risk. I don't want to cook on frying pans covered in rancid oil and dust. The recommendation is to use soap even for cast iron pans. Maybe some people do, but I also don't put any wet dishes and cutlery away, I have a dish drainer. If I found my soap was growing mould, I'd throw it in the bin, not write it off as a thing that happens and there's no need to worry about it. > this study is absolutely not validation of your point, stating "Despite the many investigations on the topic, the antibacterial activity of wood is far from fully understood" This is standard boilerplate present in nearly any paper, scientists never claim that a topic is fully understood and doesn't require any further research.