Actually Nichola they are apparently the most hygienic. My son in law is a GP and recommends wooden boards. His colleague is a microbiologist and says that they resist bacterial growth better than other things.
They're right, however the wooden board has to be the appropriate type of wood - i.e. close grained hardwood, for this to be true.
hhhmmmm maybe I should have done some research before posting, however having now done that it seems to rest on wooden boards being cleaned properly...
But then again, in general kitchen use (not for presentation of food) the same applies to plastic or synthetic boards, in fact to an even greater extent. There is a piece of research carried out a few years ago at the University of California that states:
"
Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts.
Although the bacteria that have disappeared from the wood surfaces are found alive inside the wood for some time after application, they evidently do not multiply, and they gradually die. They can be detected only by splitting or gouging the wood or by forcing water completely through from one surface to the other. If a sharp knife is used to cut into the work surfaces after used plastic or wood has been contaminated with bacteria and cleaned manually, more bacteria are recovered from a used plastic surface than from a used wood surface."
So, in a nutshell, using a wooden board in the kitchen is actually better than a well used plastic or synthetic board.
As regards serving food on a wooden board - taking to one side the aesthetics, as long as it cleaned properly you are no more likely to contract salmonella or e-coli than of a ceramic plate. Personally, I hate them - pretentious and at times awkward to cut food on - but safe nonetheless (as long as cleaned properly).
I think you can tell I've had this discussion before...
JF
Edit: source for above
http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm
