# FDA may ban use of wooden racks in cheesemaking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592 "2014-06-12T02:12:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/1 "2014-06-12T02:12:37Z")
[Here’s an article](http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/FDA-decision-puts-cheese-making-in-peril-5542497.php) in the San Francisco Chronicle about a recent decision by the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of wooden racks for aging cheese. It was brought on by a cheese maker in New York State that was repeatedly cited for bacterial contamination. The FDA says that wood, because it is porous, can act as a breeding ground for bacteria. Many cheese makers use wood because of its porosity, which helps to prevent unwanted mold from growing. The same property that the FDA objects to is the one that cheese makers find useful. If this decision stands it’s going to have a big effect on the cheese industry. Cheese makers will have to figure out how to age cheese on non-porous materials while avoiding spoilage. Some of the smaller cheese makers might not be able to afford the transition. I am not an anti-regulation ideologue. I am happy that the FDA exists, and I wish they had the resources to do their job more thoroughly. In this case, though, I suspect the FDA is guilty of overreach. There are hundreds of cheese makers that use wood, and bacterial contamination is rare. I’d rather the FDA figure out what was different about that one cheese maker’s practices that led to contamination. It seems unlikely to me that the problem is just the wood. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/2 "2014-06-12T03:00:40Z")
Old news, and already cancelled from the latest news. Evidently lots of connected, wealthy liberal insiders like artisanal cheese. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/3 "2014-06-12T03:05:58Z")
Isn’t cheese all about the bacteria? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/4 "2014-06-12T07:32:54Z")
Blessèd are the cheesemakers. (Well, obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/5 "2014-06-12T09:04:31Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Old news, and already cancelled from the latest news. Evidently lots of connected, wealthy liberal insiders like artisanal cheese. Incidentally, what is your cite for that? (Or was your point just to snark about liberals?) According to Slate, as of June 10th the FDA has pulled back slightly, but their current position seems well short of cancelling the order: > [@](#): > > [Originally posted by **L.V. Anderson** in Slate magazine:](http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/06/10/fda_wood_aged_cheese_ban_bad_news_for_comt_and_cheddar_lovers.html) > The FDA’s new statement reads, > Historically, the FDA has expressed concern about whether wood meets this requirement and has noted these concerns in inspectional findings. FDA is always open to evidence that shows that wood can be safely used for specific purposes, such as aging cheese. > > ``` > The FDA will engage with the artisanal cheese-making community to determine whether certain types of cheeses can safely be made by aging them on wooden shelving. > > ``` > > In other words, it looks like the burden of proof is on cheesemakers to show that wooden boards are safe, rather than on the FDA to show that wooden boards are dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/6 "2014-06-12T11:23:21Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Incidentally, what is your cite for that? (Or was your point just to snark about liberals?) According to Slate, as of June 10th the FDA has pulled back slightly, but their current position seems well short of cancelling the order: He’s likely talking about [this](http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2014/06/10/fda-backs-down-in-fight-over-aged-cheese/), which came out yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![OtisCampbellWasRight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@OtisCampbellWasRight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtisCampbellWasRight)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-use-of-wooden-racks-in-cheesemaking/690592/7 "2014-06-12T11:46:15Z")
For what it’s worth - and I know this is kinda apples and oranges - but the good people at America’s Test Kitchen did a test of bacterial contamination between wood and plastic cutting boards and found vertually no difference in the number of bacteria.