<p>[Listeria</a> Outbreak: Should We Worry?](<a href=“Yahoo Life: Latest News on Health, Wellness, Style, Fashion Trends and More”>Yahoo Life: Latest News on Health, Wellness, Style, Fashion Trends and More)</p>
<p>it is a strange situation with cantaloupe! they are suggesting totally peeling it before eating- i for one would loose my desire to eat before the peel. yes I am in the area. ever since H got sick years ago from salmonella from raw chicken on the counter top we use disposable gloves and plastic cutting boards.</p>
<p>I’ve heard about this before. I always wash the rind of the melon with soap and rinse well before cutting into it.</p>
<p>It is a good idea to wash the rind of any fruit or vegetable with soap and water before peeling. Avocados, melons, grapefruit, oranges, etc. Otherwise you can move bacteria from the outside to the fruit itself when peeing it or eating it.</p>
<p>Sound advice from TatinG and EPTR about washing melon rinds prior to cutting them. People seem to forget that melons actually grow on the ground. That’s why watermelons typically have white or ‘light’ spots on one side.</p>
<p>Regarding cutting boards, a good rule of thumb is to use plastic boards when preparing poultry [easier to sanitize when cleaning] and save the wood boards for produce. Wood boards can soak up bateria also but I’ve read that a quality wooden cutting board can stand a short time in a hot over to kill bateria. But usually I just pour boiling water over both kinds of cutting boards to clean and sanitize them.</p>
<p>I always wash produce thoroughly, including scrubbing the rinds of fruits like cantaloupe with a brush and vegetable wash before cutting into them. I use plastic cutting boards and put them through the dishwasher after each use. I have read, though, that wooden boards are better from the point of view of bacteria than plastic, but this does not make sense to me.</p>
<p>We use glass. Harder on knives, though. Btw, solid wooden boards can go in the dishwasher.
Interesting link: [Cutting</a> Boards, Chopping Blocks, Butcher Blocks, Cutting Board Oil, Butcher Block Oil, How To Purchase Cutting Boards, How To Season Cutting Boards, Wood vs plastic cutting boards](<a href=“http://whatscookingamerica.net/CuttingBoards/AllAbout.htm]Cutting”>http://whatscookingamerica.net/CuttingBoards/AllAbout.htm)</p>
<p>Years ago I interviewed the public health director of LA county for a local TV news story on Killer Cantaloupes. If I remember correctly, she suggested scrubbing them with a brush, as NYMomof2 does.</p>
<p>NYMomof 2:
The research you mention was comparing hand-washed plastic cutting boards with hand-washed wood cutting boards. There is something about wood that inhibited bacterial growth better under those circumstances.</p>
<p>I still hold (without any official supporting evidence) that putting a plastic board through a dishwasher machine has to be better.</p>
<p>Thanks, mafool. I feel the same way.</p>
<p>also put plastic cutting boards in dishwasher</p>
<p>I put all of my cutting boards in the dishwasher. I have one really thick wooden one that I got from a Maine prison gift shop, lol, that is indestructable!</p>
<p>I should be more diligent in washing fruits. Haven’t been so good, and so far, not sick yet…</p>
<p>I wish I had a dishwasher!</p>
<p>I have a plastic cutting board, and cut fruit/veg on one side and raw meat on the other. I scrub it with hot, soapy water immediately after use. I soak it in bleach water twice a month or so, depending on usage (carrots and spinach really stain it badly).</p>
<p>I also scrub every fruit and veg before slicing, and rinse all “pre-washed” salad greens. I’m on the bandwagon with all those averse to surface chemicals / contaminants / bacteria!</p>
<p>I have a quetion for everyone…Do you go to the restaurant? ANY restaurant?</p>
<p>^@artloversplus</p>
<p>LOL. I’m definitely picky! (We rarely eat out anyway [or maybe “consequently”?])</p>
<p>A friend’s feelings about “pre-washed” veggies: yeah, but you don’t know who washed them.
-If you do use a scrub brush, be careful to sterilize the brush periodically.</p>