Thread: Is New guinie Rosewood ok for food prep?

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Google on 'bad woods' and 'wood toxicity'

ist possibly a bit lightweight or soft for a cutting board but then anything would probably work ok..maybe u got tougher pieces, maybe cutting it into end grain blocks would help..give it a go see how it work..s

I find I am sensitive to the dust of New Guinea Rosewood when I've worked it. I doubt that translates to being toxic as a cutting surface however I'd do more research before using one.

Also the boards I have have a fairly coarse open grain. Again, I don't know if that would be an issue with keeping baddie microbes at bay but I'd be a bit suss about using it for cutting say chicken on.

Unfortunately doesn't really answer your question but helpful anyway

http://www.ubeaut.com.au/badwood.htm#N

If you do a forum search on wooden cutting boards you will find links to University studies, TV Shows and Newspaper articles that say the same thing.

Wooden cutting boards are safer to use than both plastic and marble boards, there is both a natural wicking action that pulls the baddies away as well inhibiting and killing them, regardless of the type of wood used.


To original question, used a heap of NG Rosewood off cuts to make up some chopping boards last year, my mother, brother and my family have not suddenly curled up and died since they started using them.

Yeah, I thought that it was only "badwood" as a sawdust. The stuff I have is as tight and fine as the real rosewood. At the moment im using it as a hobby bench piece for tying flys for flyfishing, glue and stuff all over it. What made me think it could be a kitchen board is that its so stable, It is totaly back cut but is freakishly stable. I got it from the woodage at mittagong? ten years ago, Gee they brought in some good stuff.

AFAIK claims for the anti-microbial properties of wood have been discredited.

AFAIK claims for the anti-microbial properties of wood have been discredited

Don't think you will find thats right, the studies have been done and replicated several times in last decade.

Got any recent references?

Got interested so did a quick search.

It seems Cruzi that you are partly right.

* Wood at least as good as polyethylene. Pine and beech tested, but only new material [added: and beech was no better than plastic]:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insigh...tentId=1599299

* Anti-bacterial effects of wood greater than plastic:
http://www.atypon-link.com/WDG/doi/a...15/HF.2005.012

True only for pine, not other timbers tested:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/hu4ylvq1jd1hkenm/

These are bacterium studies. Viruses and parasites are likely to be another matter.

Added: conclusion from only these studies is that it depends on the timber and effects with used boards needs to be studied.