Stainless Steel Chopping board, are they viable options?

Hello! I've lurked around the forums for about a year on and off and this has been a great place to learn things about food safety because the members have actual practical experience that they can share, as well as studies.

That being said I would like to ask for the opinions of the members here about the use of stainless steel chopping board in a commercial kitchen. Personally I wasn't even aware this was a thing until it was brought up to me by a store I'm overseeing (a staff member saw them being sold online and was wondering if they can use it instead of the easily damaged plastic one they have)

I can't find enough unbiased/customer review about them but the concerns I could think of are as such :

1. How easily and deeply can it be scratched?

Superficial scratches are probably to be expected in due time, but can they be cleaned well?

2. Is it safe for chopping?

Can we use a rubber fish mallet / hammer while cutting on it? Will the stainless steel chopping board dent easily and what's the impact of that?

3. There's some concern that the stainless steel surface will actually dull knives really fast. Will there be concern about knife chipping?

I'd really appreciate anyone who can share their thoughts here, or even better actual experience of use.

Thank you in advance!

I can say that I would never use them in our operation. We are heavy duty cutters all day 7 days a week and we use the plastic ones and rotate them out to be shaved down or tossed as needed. Metal on metal is never a good idea. It will dull blades quickly and yes can chip the knives. We have had stainless tables and even on the extreme off chance of someone not using a board- they scratch fast. Scratches in stainless are no easier to clean than scratches in anything else. There are different grades and thicknesses of the plastic boards. We've had good luck getting thick boards and sending them to be shaved down periodically to get rid of the scratches and get more life out of them.

veruca

I can say that I would never use them in our operation. We are heavy duty cutters all day 7 days a week and we use the plastic ones and rotate them out to be shaved down or tossed as needed. Metal on metal is never a good idea. It will dull blades quickly and yes can chip the knives. We have had stainless tables and even on the extreme off chance of someone not using a board- they scratch fast. Scratches in stainless are no easier to clean than scratches in anything else. There are different grades and thicknesses of the plastic boards. We've had good luck getting thick boards and sending them to be shaved down periodically to get rid of the scratches and get more life out of them.

 

veruca

Thanks Veruca. 

yes currently the stores i oversee are also using thick plastic boards, however there is no local company that does cutting board shaving service and the stores themselves can't do it professionally enough so they end up with heavy stains and throwing them without shaving, it's a right shame.

For the metal board, I've decided to purchase a decently priced one for use at home to see the effects first hand.

Thank you again for your insight. I guess for professional purposes metal chopping board still have a lot of setbacks that's unaccounted for.

Thanks Veruca. 

 

yes currently the stores i oversee are also using thick plastic boards, however there is no local company that does cutting board shaving service and the stores themselves can't do it professionally enough so they end up with heavy stains and throwing them without shaving, it's a right shame.

 

For the metal board, I've decided to purchase a decently priced one for use at home to see the effects first hand.

Thank you again for your insight. I guess for professional purposes metal chopping board still have a lot of setbacks that's unaccounted for.

JFI, previous threads on this topic noted that defined wooden units can be  microbiologically acceptable also.

I can't imagine the employees are going to like using the stainless boards at all

They WILL damage your knives (which are way more expensive, you'll loose time and efficiency)

They WILL scratch

YES you can hammer all you want, depending on the gauge you use

They are slippery, heavy and cold

I would switch back to wood if I were you, you could opt for different wood species for raw/cooked/meat/veg etc  or have them burned with the allowed material to be cut on them.  Couple of important factors with wood---the type of glue used, frequency of cleaning, type of wood used and product segregation