#45: Cutting Board Caution
It might not come as a shock, but it appears that your cutting board can be more dangerous than a pack of hungry piranhas! According to this microbiologist, our cutting boards can serve as the ideal breeding grounds for bacteria. If you’ve been using the same board for years, and it looks like it’s been through a culinary war, it’s probably time to bid it farewell.
Those imperfections on the board’s surface are perfect hiding spots for bacteria, and no matter how much you scrub, they’re not going anywhere. In fact, they’ll continue to multiply until you have a full-blown bacterial party on your hands (or, rather, in your food). So, if you want to steer clear of a nasty case of foodborne illness, pay close attention to the condition of your cutting board and retire it when it starts to resemble a mini Grand Canyon. After all, we’re advised to replace our toothbrushes every three months or so, so maybe the same rule should apply to cutting boards.