As we’ve all just spent hours in our kitchens for the past few weeks, the last thing we want to think about is cooking, or having to replace things in the kitchen.
But did you know that it can actually be dangerous to keep certain items as they get more used?
A food expert named Adam James Pollock took to X to remind people to throw away their plastic chopping boards when they start to look worse for wear.
He included a photo of a red, plastic cutting board that had gone white due to all of the small cuts that had been made, making it look well-loved.
He wrote along with the photo: “Friendly reminder: if your chopping board looks like this, please throw it away immediately.”
He went on to share an excerpt from his book, Sustenance, where he argues several reasons why he always recommend using wooden chopping boards, saying they’re better for your own health, and for your knifes.
He quoted different studies that claimed that bacteria like salmonella and listeria have a better chance of surviving inside a plastic cutting board, and even multiplies over night. Comparably, the same bacteria gets absorbed into a wooden chopping board within minutes and dies.
The cuts that’s created in a plastic cutting board when you use a knife also released microplastics into your food, recent studies found. In one study, the research concluded that chopping ingredients, like vegetables, on two specific types of plastic boards, polyethylene and polypropylene, releases microplastics that can cling to the food we eat, including meats and vegetables.
Adam also said that plastic cutting boards have a bigger risk in ruining your knifes, as the knives usually go dull after scraping on plastic.
One woman commented: “I just smooth it down with sandpaper, change grits until smooth to touch. I save $15 at target every year this way.”
“You don’t like to season your food with a dash of microplastics?” a second person jokingly asked.
Another user wrote: “Plastic? Agreed. I don’t care if it’s brand new, throw it away! Plastics do not belong in your food.”
