The effectiveness of neutral electrolyzed water (NEW) to sanitize cutting boards used for food preparation was investigated. Cutting boards made of hardwood and bamboo were inoculated with Escherichia coil K12 and Listeria innocua, dried for 1 h, washed, rinsed and sanitized with NEW, sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution, or tap water (control). After each washing protocol, surviving bacterial populations were determined. Results showed that both NEW and NaClO sanitizing solutions produced similar levels of bacterial reductions. In manual washing, the population reductions by NEW and NaClO were 3.4 and 3.6 log(10) CFU/100 cm(2) for E. coil, and 4.1 and 3.9 log(10) CFU/100 cm(2) for L innocua, respectively. In the automatic washing, the reductions by NEW and NaClO were 4.0 and 4.0 log(10) CFU/100 cm(2) for E. coli, and 4.2 and 3.6 log(10) CFU/100 cm(2) for L innocua, respectively. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed in surviving bacteria counts when comparing board material types. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.