Viviane Hanelt
Theoretical Experiment
Introduction
According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration (2011), there can be bacteria present on many different surfaces in the kitchen including cutting boards, sponges, counter tops, etc. In order to maintain the best food safety at home, it is important to choose the material that will be least likely to harbor bacteria. For years, consumers have wondered whether it is better to buy a wooden cutting board or a plastic one. Misner and Curtis (2008) talk about a research which shows that plastic cutting boards are nonporous and therefore easier to clean and safer for cutting meat and poultry. Although wooden boards have antimicrobial qualities, they are porous and bacteria can become trapped in these surfaces and do not come off easily when rinsing. Because bacteria can live in a dormant state for a long time, they can contaminate foods when you use the wooden boards at different times.
Even though plastic boards contain bacteria as well, they can be more easily washed off making plastic cutting boards the better option.
Hypothesis
Do bacteria survive longer on wooden cutting boards as opposed to plastic ones?
If bacteria survive longer on wooden cutting boards, then I will see more bacteria on the wooden board culture than on the plastic board culture.
Methods
Cut one 2x2 square of each type of board, wood and plastic.
Place raw meat on top of each square for 5 minutes.
Rinse each square with tap water for 30 seconds.
Place each square in room temperature, sterile containers and seal it so that new bacteria do not contaminate them.
Wait 24 hours.
Grow a bacterial culture by inoculating the bacteria from each square onto two agars.
Use serial dilution to get a countable plate.
Compare the number of bacteria...