wooden cutting boards was:Re: SC - Re: Feastware Question

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

Hiya from Anne-Marie "just call me answer girl" ":D

Adamantius asks:
> 1) Is the anti-bacterial quality present in all wood, all the woods they
> tested, or did they test only one kind?

The article describes many types of wood tested, with the same results in
all.

> 2) Is this phenomenon found to be active in tests of cutting boards more
than,
> say, a year old, in terms of active use?

The article actually stated that coatings like the mineral oil  on the
wooden boards from the factory would abrograte this effect, since its the
plain ol' wood that seems to pack the punch.

> 
> 3) In what way were the boards (wood or plastic) cleaned and sterilized
before innoculation?

the boards were innoculated (ie knife scored) and then washed with hot
water and soap. Plastic boards cooties, wooden boards, none. No other
process was described, though the fact that they innocculated with specific
organisms (Salmonella, Listeria or E. Coli) and then recovered those same
bugs woul
d eliminate the effects of airborn contamination (mold, yeast, Pseudomonas,
etc).
> 
> 4) And finally, do the conditions for the test reflect a simulation of
actual
> use, and if not, why are the results considered relevant to an actual use
> situation? 
> 
Again, they attempted to recreate knife scoring, and then left the boards
out for several days without washing.Cultures were taken at three minutes,
and over several days. 

> I'm not expecting these answers from you, AM, necessarily, I'm just
finding
> them occurring naturally. I guess I should look up in the Reader's Guide
to
> Periodical Literature.

My little science geek brain would love to see the original study and pick
apart their experimental design :D...and I still plan on bleaching the crap
out of my cutting boards no matter what they're made of! :)

- --AM
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