How to Clean a Wood Cutting Board & Avoid Food Poisoning

Salt kills bacteria.

In her book Clean House, Clean Planet, Karen Logan points out that cutting boards used to work with meat, fish, and turkey (raw or cooked) could be a source of food poisoning more often than you'd think. Instead of turning to chlorine bleach for disinfecting, Logan suggests the following two eco-friendly methods:

• Rub a paste of salt and hot water into the board. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Rinse with vinegar.
• Rub board with a halved lemon and some salt. Rub into the cutting board. Rinse with hot water. 

To prevent cross-contamination, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection, suggests using one cutting board dedicated to fresh produce and bread and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood. This will prevent bacteria on a cutting board that is used for raw meat, poultry, or seafood from contaminating a food that requires no further cooking.

Resources:
More food safety tips.
How salt kills bacteria in meat, explained.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube