Wooden kitchen utensils are very common in Spanish kitchens. However, although it is true that they do not scratch pans and prevent us from burning ourselves, as they do not conduct heat, the truth is that they are not very recommendable from the point of view of hygiene and food safety.
Its use in the kitchen is generally not recommended, as this porous material is conducive to the proliferation of bacteria and cross-contamination. But there is also a particularly dangerous practice, which is washing them in the dishwasher. This is what pharmacist Álvaro Fernández (@farmaceuticofernandez, with a million followers) has warned about on his Instagram profile.
Food safety experts advise against cooking with wooden utensils.
“If you have wooden kitchen utensils, don’t put them in the dishwasher,” she begins her warning. She explains that wood has pores, cracks and small gaps through which it is easier for microorganisms to enter and survive. “If you put it in the dishwasher at high temperatures and high humidity, it is easier for the wood to crack even more, for splinters to appear and for bacteria and other things to get in that can cause serious infections,” she adds.
“In short, use another type of cookware or you have to wash by hand, because wood in the kitchen can be a bit dirty, especially if you put it in the dishwasher,” she concludes.
The danger of wooden utensils in the kitchen
Álvaro Fernández is not the only expert who has highlighted the unsuitability of wooden utensils in the kitchen. Food technologist Mario Sánchez explained in this report that this material “is very unsuitable from the point of view of food safety” because “as it is porous, it absorbs the juices of the food, which get trapped in the utensil and facilitate the appearance of microorganisms.”
Chemist and science communicator Deborah García, meanwhile, stressed in this report that “we should banish all porous materials from our kitchens.” “All these utensils can create biofilm, colonies of bacteria organized in hierarchies that are very difficult to eliminate and pose a risk to health. We can end up contracting salmonellosis, listeriosis and even botulism,” explains the expert.
Wooden utensils are a breeding ground for bacteria due to their porosity.
Gemma del Caño, a pharmacist and expert in food safety, also shares this opinion, noting that wood is a material that retains moisture very well and therefore it is very easy for biofilm to form. “This moisture is what favours microbiological growth,” she insists.
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In conclusion, experts agree that kitchen utensils are not the most suitable for cooking. Instead, it is better to opt for silicone or metal utensils, because they resist high temperatures very well. “But we must be careful with what we buy: some plastics are not thermostable and could melt with heat,” argues Deborah García.
The humidity and heat of the dishwasher encourage bacteria to penetrate the pores of the wood.
