Yes, wood absolutely is. The idea that plastic cutting boards are safer is far outdated science and was marketing pushed by the plastic industry. Wood cutting boards are easier to sanitize because the wood is naturally antimicrobial, while plastic gets deep cuts in it from knives that are harder to clean.
Hell, back in the early 90s, studies were showing plastic holds onto bacteria more than wood, even after sanitization, and that wooden cutting boards were more hygienic than plastic.
Commercial places use plastic because it’s cheap, portable, and disposable. You can have a thinner cutting board that’s easier to move around, you can toss it in the high temp dishwasher, and when it gets too cut up you can just throw it away and get another one for dirt cheap. And you can have 100 of them so that when you cut beef on one, you can just toss that into the sink and grab a new one to cut vegetables on without worrying about sanitizing in between.
Wood requires maintenance, is heavier, and expensive. You can’t just throw it in the dishwasher and have to hand wash it, otherwise it will warp. And a thick butcher block cutting board that can stand up to constant commercial use is really heavy. Plus they’re FAR more expensive than plastic. You can’t have that many of them, and have to worry about sanitizing in between uses. And they’re 10-100x more expensive than plastic boards.
Being big and bulky introduces the human element too. If it’s a pain in the ass to move around and clean properly, people will cut corners or just not do it. They’ll cut chicken on it then give it a half ass wipe and use the same board to cut veggies on because they’re under a time crunch and taking the time to properly clean it is “wasting time”.
It’s like wearing gloves. Gloves are more hygienic in a vacuum, but that depends on proper usage. People need to still wash their hands and need to change gloves each time there’s a risk of cross-contamination. Which they don’t do. You’ll see people touching their faces or money with gloves, then turn around and touch food with the same gloves. Which is why in nicer restaurants, you will never see anyone wearing gloves. They just wash their hands more frequently because that’s safer than the risk of cross-contamination from improper glove usage.
But I still think having a toy that’s designed for kids to touch in a doctors office is a bad idea. It’s almost as bad as a ball pit.
Probably, but unfortunately the age that kids are most frequently at the doctor, are the ages where kids are almost entirely tactile learners and don’t do well just sitting quietly or watching a screen.
Wood is naturally antimicrobial. Also, a spray with lysol is more than enough to clean it.
Wood is definitely not antimicrobial. That’s why they use plastic cutting boards in restaurants, especially for meat.
Yes, wood absolutely is. The idea that plastic cutting boards are safer is far outdated science and was marketing pushed by the plastic industry. Wood cutting boards are easier to sanitize because the wood is naturally antimicrobial, while plastic gets deep cuts in it from knives that are harder to clean.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765723000741
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/public-health/even-treated-wood-prevents-bacterial-transmission-hand
Hell, back in the early 90s, studies were showing plastic holds onto bacteria more than wood, even after sanitization, and that wooden cutting boards were more hygienic than plastic.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31113021/
Plastic cutting boards also introduce a shit ton of microplastics directly into food.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37220346/
I stand corrected on wood’s antiseptic properties, though I’ve never seen a butcher or fish monger use anything other than HDPE boards.
But I still think having a toy that’s designed for kids to touch in a doctors office is a bad idea. It’s almost as bad as a ball pit.
Commercial places use plastic because it’s cheap, portable, and disposable. You can have a thinner cutting board that’s easier to move around, you can toss it in the high temp dishwasher, and when it gets too cut up you can just throw it away and get another one for dirt cheap. And you can have 100 of them so that when you cut beef on one, you can just toss that into the sink and grab a new one to cut vegetables on without worrying about sanitizing in between.
Wood requires maintenance, is heavier, and expensive. You can’t just throw it in the dishwasher and have to hand wash it, otherwise it will warp. And a thick butcher block cutting board that can stand up to constant commercial use is really heavy. Plus they’re FAR more expensive than plastic. You can’t have that many of them, and have to worry about sanitizing in between uses. And they’re 10-100x more expensive than plastic boards.
Being big and bulky introduces the human element too. If it’s a pain in the ass to move around and clean properly, people will cut corners or just not do it. They’ll cut chicken on it then give it a half ass wipe and use the same board to cut veggies on because they’re under a time crunch and taking the time to properly clean it is “wasting time”.
It’s like wearing gloves. Gloves are more hygienic in a vacuum, but that depends on proper usage. People need to still wash their hands and need to change gloves each time there’s a risk of cross-contamination. Which they don’t do. You’ll see people touching their faces or money with gloves, then turn around and touch food with the same gloves. Which is why in nicer restaurants, you will never see anyone wearing gloves. They just wash their hands more frequently because that’s safer than the risk of cross-contamination from improper glove usage.
Probably, but unfortunately the age that kids are most frequently at the doctor, are the ages where kids are almost entirely tactile learners and don’t do well just sitting quietly or watching a screen.
I agree that human young are as annoying as they are riddled with disease.
Consider that, perhaps, restaurant owners are mostly morons.
This means Costco is a bunch of morons because they use plastic cutting boards in their butcher shop.
Correct, but also, plastic is cheaper.
just ignore them. their brain is malnourished.