Food Safety: Heard of butter boards? Here’s how to keep them safe

Butter boards, a popular social media fad, have become this year’s trendy appetizer to serve during gatherings with family and friends. However, care must be taken to ensure that these boards do not become a source of foodborne illness.

Butter boards are made by spreading softened butter across a smooth surface such as a cutting board. Garnishes, like dried fruit, nuts, herbs, honey or jam are placed on top of the butter. The butter and toppings are then used as a spread that can be placed on bread, crackers, pita, chips or other foods.

These spreads have become popular, as they are delicious, easy to make, and can add a festive touch to your appetizer options.

If you choose to make a butter board for your holiday festivities, there are steps you should take to ensure that it remains a safe and delightful treat. Butter boards are often prepared and served on wooden cutting boards, which are porous and can allow for the harborage of human pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella.

Even if the boards have been washed well in hot, soapy water, pathogens can still be present in microcracks. Given this, it is best to use a nonporous surface such as a stone cutting board or ceramic platter.

Make sure that whatever you use has been washed well with hot, soapy water and preferably sanitized in a dishwasher.

Although butter can usually be left out at room temperature for extended periods, other ingredients at room temperature may support the rapid growth of harmful bacteria.

This is especially true if you use fresh herbs, fruit, vegetables or other perishable foods. Ensure perishable foods are thoroughly washed under running water before slicing and adding them as toppings to the butter. To prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms, be sure the board with the ingredients is refrigerated or discarded within two hours.

If preparing the board before your gathering, keep it refrigerated until you are ready to serve it. The butter will soften quickly at room temperature and can be spread onto bread or other foods within a short time of being set out.

Regarding ingredients, consider possible risks to your party guests if preparing a board that contains any of the top nine food allergens.

Sesame, shellfish, fish, soy, peanuts, eggs, dairy, wheat and tree nuts like almonds, pistachios and walnuts cause more than 90% of all food allergies. Food allergies can range from mild to life-threatening. Be sure your guests know what ingredients you have added to your board so they can avoid them if they have food allergies.

Hands are great for spreading pathogens onto foods, and in many cases it takes only a few virus particles or bacteria to cause a foodborne illness. Keep in mind that although foodborne illnesses are usually self-resolving, they can also be severe and result in hospitalization or death. Given this, be sure to provide utensils so guests can transfer the butter board ingredients onto clean plates. Do not allow guests to dip bread, crackers, or other ingredients directly onto the board.

You may wish to consider preparing multiple smaller butter boards to reduce the risk of contamination and growth of microorganisms. Smaller boards can reduce the length of time the ingredients spend at room temperature, limiting bacterial growth. Additionally, smaller boards can reduce the risk of contamination from multiple hands accessing the ingredients repeatedly while eating.

These tips will help ensure your butter boards are a festive, tasty appetizer instead of a petri dish of microorganisms. Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Smith is an assistant professor and statewide consumer food specialist for Washington State University. She can be reached at food.safety@wsu.edu. If you have a food safety question you would like to see in this column, send your question to us at food.safety@wsu.edu.