Cutting boards for food industry

[butters]

Hello,
I have some questions about cutting boards. I need tomake some of them for the restaurant - they would be used extensively and then cleaned using a dishwasher - with chemicals and very high temperature (those industrial dishwashers are far more hardcore than regular ones). What do you think I should use? What kind of wood would be appropriate? What kind of glue and finish should I use (should not be toxic as the board is to used to prepare and serve food an at the same time should be dishwasher resistant)? What would be your general design tips - it doesn't need to be very pretty but it should last for years.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Wooden chopping boards should be hand wash only and never soaked. However if needs must I would say:

Steamed Beech.
Single piece so no joints or glue to fail.
Finished in vegetable fat.

 

[paultnl]

I would check the food regs if I were you as I don't think wooden ones are legal in a public restaurant

 

[Harbo]

I made some Beech ones for my daughter, and though I told her to hand wash them only, her husband dishwashered them. They did not survive the experience!

Rod

 

[Hitch]

Pretty sure you would be better off with HDPE, colour coded ones.
Probably work out cheaper than wooden ones too.

 

[butters]

Thank you for your answers. I'll check if they are legal.
But still I would like to ask Hudson Carpentry:
Why beech and why steamed (you mean steaming prcoces like in steam bending)?
One piece = no joints and no glue and that's good. But it can cup more easily than a glued one.

 

[undergroundhunter]

One piece = no joints and no glue and that's good. But it can cup more easily than a glued one.

You are right but a glued joint will fail the first time it is put in the dishwasher. As far as I am aware (I am no means an expert on kitchen hygiene) you cant prepare the food using wooden boards but you can serve it on wooden boards e.g. cheese boards.
I cant seem to find any info on the internet but i only did a quick search

I hope this helps.

 

[butters]

Thank you very much.

 

[Russell]

When I worked in restaurants colour coded plastic chopping boards were a food hygiene requirement diffferent boards for veg and meat etc

 

[marcros]

but steak is often served on a wooden chopping board in restaurants, bistros and bars.

 

[Giff]

but steak is often served on a wooden chopping board in restaurants, bistros and bars

Yes but that's after they are cooked the problems with the bacteria are pre-cooking and preparation...
the nasty (food poisoning) bacteria can multiple (double) every 20minutes...so you can easily start with a million....! giff

 

[Kalimna]

As mentioned above, there is a difference between food preparation, and food serving.
I have a cookery book (quite a few actually!), which Im pretty sure is Ottolenghi, that has a photo of a fish on a blue board which has a comment to the effect that 'Yes, I know it shouldnt be on blue, but it looks good in the photo for the book.'

Just out of interest, why would it need to go in a dishwasher? Are there not other methods of cleaning a board that is only required for food presentation, not prep?

Adam S

 

[cambournepete]

the nasty (food poisoning) bacteria can multiple (double) every 20minutes...so you can easily start with a million....! giff

Ironically the nasty bugs last longer on the hygenic plastic boards than the nasty wooden ones...

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Thank you for your answers. I'll check if they are legal.
But still I would like to ask Hudson Carpentry:
Why beech and why steamed (you mean steaming prcoces like in steam bending)?
One piece = no joints and no glue and that's good. But it can cup more easily than a glued one.

One piece as said so the joint and glue don't fail.

Beech because its a very hard closed grain timber which is known to work well with food.
Steamed beech (you buy it steamed) as thats more stable then non steamed beech so less likely to cup. As said I was only giving you the info so a "needs must", the best change of a bad situation.
Veg Oil as you said chemicals which I do not know if they will react with the normal oils or finishes and you can't get much more food safe then veg oil.

You can use wooden plates in the food industry, ie to serve food. I have supplied a local restaurant with many beech ones.

I agree with the above regarding a plastic board.

 

[Tim Nott]

Maple would be my choice (or sycamore). But I wouldn't put it (or any other wood) in the dishwasher.

 

[Giff]

the nasty (food poisoning) bacteria can multiple (double) every 20minutes...so you can easily start with a million....! giff

Ironically the nasty bugs last longer on the hygenic plastic boards than the nasty wooden ones...

You are right Pete but you can then "boil/steam" the plastic ones in the dishwasher which you apparently can't do with the wooden ones. giff

 

[tomatwark]

I seem to remember that they tried to ban wooden butchers blocks a few years ago and replace them with plastic ones.

It turned out that the wooden ones were more hygeinic and they had to do a U turn, there is thought to be something in the beech which is has antibactrial properties.


Tom

 

[SammyQ]

Edited in deference to Alf:

Wood has chemicals that kill bugs, plastic doesn't.

Sam

 

[Alf]

fwiw, some further scientific verbiage on the matter here, via Jeff Gorman's site.

 

[JakeS]

One thing I'd read somewhere in relation to the Dr. Cliver article mentioned above was that the antibacterial effect of a wooden board was significantly diminished if the board was finished in any way, because the oil formed a barrier that prevented the bacteria and the bactericides meeting. I seem to recall a phrase like "puts the wooden board in the same situation as the plastic one", but I can't find any reference to it now. Anyone got any idea?