If you think plastic cutting boards are safer to use than wooden ones, you are wrong! Wood has natural antimicrobial properties and believe it or not, will keep your knives sharper. A board used to slice raw meat can harbor 200 times more bacteria than a toilet seat! Ugh! Clean your cutting boards by scrubbing them with hot soapy water after each use or switching from types of foods. You can avoid cross-contamination by using 2 boards: one for meat, poultry, and seafood and the other for bread and produce. Discard any old plastic boards that have knife scars or cracks.