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What should you cut your food on? Here's how wood, plastic, titanium, glass, and silicone compare
ASK A RESEARCHER: Plastic cutting boards should be replaced regularly, says researcher.
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Which cutting board is best for the environment? And which one is safest for your health and hygiene?
Most of us go for plastic or wooden boards. But which is actually better?
And what about titanium, glass, and silicone?
These are questions readers of Science Norway have sent to the editorial team.
So we asked the experts.
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Microplastics from chopping boards
Many of us have plastic chopping boards.
They are cheap and easy to clean – most can even go straight in the dishwasher.
But then there's the issue of microplastics – the tiny pieces of plastic we can't see with the naked eye, but that can end up in the food we eat.
Researchers still don't quite know what microplastics do to our bodies.
Worn cutting boards should be replaced
Vilde Snekkervik is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA). She is an expert on microplastics.
Snekkervik explains that new plastic boards generally don't release microplastics.
"But as the board gets older and more worn, especially if you're cutting hard ingredients, small pieces of plastic can come loose and potentially end up in your food," she says.
How quickly this happens depends on the quality, type of plastic, and how much the board is used.
"That's why it's wise to replace cutting boards that are scratched or worn," she says.
Utensils that get hot
This also applies to other plastic kitchen tools – ladles, spatulas, bowls, and lunch boxes.
Not all of them release microplastics during regular use. But over time, especially with repeated heating, washing, and wear, tiny fragments can come loose.
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That doesn’t mean you need to throw out all your existing plastic items, Snekkervik points out.
"But when you buy new ones, you can choose alternatives made of wood, metal, or glass – for example, cutting boards, ladles, and spatulas in wood, and storage containers in glass or stainless steel," she says. "The older and more used an item is, the greater the risk."
Snekkervik herself prefers using wooden boards and kitchen utensils. But she still has some plastic tools that she continues to use as long as they are intact and in good condition.
"The most important thing is to take care of what you have and choose more durable options the next time you need to replace something," she says.
No clear advantage for silicone
Silicone is also a type of plastic.
It's known for being more durable, which could mean it releases less microplastic over time, according to Snekkervik.
"But so far, there’s no research showing that silicone is a significantly better choice," she says.
Comfortable to work with
So, what about wooden boards?
Bjørn Christian Schirmer is a chemist and toxicologist at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute. He has previously studied bacterial growth in wood, including in cutting boards.
"Wood has good qualities because it's comfortable to work with, especially for long periods. It's more pleasant than using plastic or metal boards," he says.
But when it comes to safety and hygiene, the research gives mixed results.
Bacteria can survive in the wood
On one hand, studies have shown that bacteria can more easily penetrate wood, survive there over time, and later be released when the board becomes wet, according to Schirmer.
"But other studies suggest that certain types of wood have natural antibacterial properties and can actually kill bacteria," he says.
The direction in which the wood is cut – whether with or against the grain – also affects how easily bacteria penetrate the board.
"The main drawback of wood is that it’s harder to clean since it shouldn’t really go in the dishwasher," says Schirmer. "Plastic is practical and easy to wash, but once it becomes scratched and worn, it’s harder to keep clean."
Like Snekkervik, he recommends replacing plastic boards regularly.
Different boards for different foods
Schirmer's best tip is to have separate cutting boards for different types of food.
"I mostly use plastic myself. I have one board for fruit and vegetables, and a separate one for meat and fish. I wash them in the dishwasher and replace them when they start getting scratched," he says.
Ideally, this should be done once or twice a year, according to Schirmer.
"And I have a wooden board I use for bread," he says.
He reminds us of the usual hygiene rules: rinse vegetables thoroughly and always wash your hands after handling raw meat.
Is titanium a safe alternative?
There's no clear answer on what the perfect chopping board material is – whether plastic or wood.
But what about other materials that cutting boards are made of these days?
Titanium has been marketed as a bacteria-free option. It's easy to clean and relatively soft, according to the advertisements.
Or is it?
We asked Ola Nilsen, professor of chemistry at the University of Oslo, about using titanium as a cutting board material.
Like sandpaper
"Poor knives," is the first thing he says.
Titanium is harder than plastic and wood, which means it will dull knives quickly.
Like other metal surfaces, it's relatively rough and will act like sandpaper over time, according to Nilsen, who actually keeps a few titanium sheets in his office.
"You can do a lot of fun things with a piece of titanium," he says.
But he definitely wouldn't use a sharp knife on any of them.
Better against bacteria?
Those who make titanium cutting boards often claim that the material is antibacterial – and therefore more hygienic than other options.
"With UV light, titanium can react with bacteria and kill them," says Nilsen.
But that only works in theory, he notes.
After all, who uses UV light when cleaning their chopping boards?
Like plastic boards, titanium can also get scratched. According to Nilsen, that means small bits of titanium could, in theory, end up in your food.
Titanium dioxide in food
Titanium dioxide was used as a food additive not long ago, says Nilsen. It was added to dressings and toothpaste to make them white. The substance is also found in paint.
"We've been surrounded by it for years," says Nilsen.
But the use of titanium dioxide in food and cosmetics has been banned due to concerns about possible negative effects. Nilsen points out that researchers have never found a proven link between titanium dioxide and poor health.
"But there are no studies showing that it's good for you either," he says.
So, as a precaution, authorities decided to ban it in food. It's still used in some sunscreens and paints.
One clear advantage of titanium chopping boards is that they can be washed in the dishwasher.
Cutting on glass
You can also find glass cutting boards in some stores.
"Unlike titanium, tempered glass can have a very smooth and strong surface that's hard enough not to get scratched by knives," says Nilsen.
This means knives stay sharp longer, and the glass is easy to clean.
"But if the board breaks or gets chipped, the cleanup job becomes much, much worse," he says.
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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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