Some laboratory experiments on various meat preparation surfaces with regard to surface contamination and cleaning

Abstract
Summary: Laboratory experiments have been carried out to determine the bacterial plate counts on various meat preparation surfaces both before and after cleaning. The surfaces tested included wood, five proprietary cutting boards and formica. Experiments on both unused and scored surfaces showed that plate counts from wood were always greater than those from all the other boards tested indicating that the latter can be cleaned more efficiently.Tests were made to determine the incidence of salmonellae on wooden surfaces in frequent contact with raw meat. Ten (4.3%) of 235 samples of wood scrapings were found to contain salmonellae. These results confirm that wooden surfaces can be reservoirs and distributors of salmonellae.