Switch to wooden kitchenware and someone will tell you it's unhygienic. That wood is porous. That bacteria get in and stay there. That plastic is safer because you can put it through the dishwasher.

This advice has been repeated so often it feels like fact. The problem is the science doesn't back it up.

Where the advice came from

For decades, health departments and government bodies recommended plastic over wood. The USDA recommended plastic cutting boards for home kitchens. Restaurants were required to use them.

In the early 1990s, food microbiologist Dean Cliver at the University of Wisconsin contacted the USDA to ask for the scientific evidence behind the recommendation. They told him they didn't have any. It was based on assumption, not data.

So Cliver ran the study himself.

What the research actually found

Cliver and his colleagues contaminated both wooden and plastic boards with dangerous bacteria including E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. The results were the opposite of what everyone assumed.

On wooden boards, bacteria were drawn into the wood's fibres within minutes and could not be recovered from the surface. They were unable to multiply inside the wood and died. On plastic boards, bacteria survived on the surface and multiplied, particularly in knife scars where they couldn't be fully removed even with thorough cleaning.

The effect held on both new and heavily used wooden boards. The wood's natural properties don't diminish with age or wear.

A 2025 study in the Journal of Food Protection confirmed the findings, testing maple wood against high-density polyethylene. Wood reduced bacterial load. Plastic didn't.

What about the dishwasher

A new plastic board can be cleaned effectively in a commercial dishwasher. A knife-scarred one cannot. The bacteria find too many places to hide.

Wooden kitchenware should be hand washed and dried straight away. That's not a concession. That's just the correct way to clean it, and it works.

What this means in practice

The assumption that plastic is more hygienic is not supported by the evidence. A well-maintained wooden utensil or board is cleaner in daily use than a knife-scarred plastic one, which is what most plastic kitchenware becomes within months of regular use.

There's also the microplastics question. Plastic sheds particles into food during normal use. Wood doesn't.

At Grain & Ridge, our standard is simple. Every product is made from natural, non-toxic materials and finished without synthetic coatings.

Nothing that sheds, nothing that leaches, and nothing that gives bacteria anywhere to hide.

The advice to use plastic was never based on evidence. Now you have the evidence to ignore it.

Check out the Grain & Ridge range here.