2021-07-29
Most high-density polyethylene plastic (HDPE) boards are specifically designed not to dull the edge of a knife. If a score line is present, the knife is safe. A serrated knife should not be used on a plastic cutting board. The sharper the knife, the longer the cutting board will last. Semi-disposable thin flexible cutting boards also ease transferring their contents to a cooking or storage vessel.
Bacteria or allergens can easily be transmitted from one part of the kitchen to another or from one food to another via knives, hands, or surfaces such as chopping boards. To reduce the chance of this it is advised to use separate boards for different types of food such as raw meat, cooked meat, dairy and vegetables.
Many professional kitchens follow this standard colour-coding system:
Blue cutting boards: raw seafood.
Red cutting boards: raw red meat.
Green cutting boards: vegetables and fruits.
Yellow cutting boards: poultry
Brown cutting boards: cooked meat
White cutting boards: dairy and breads (also for universal if no other board is available.)