I removed these from the package and was taken back by the awful (and strong!) smell they produced. I thought and "didn't I order these because they were suppose to be healthier, no way I am putting food on those!" . But, since I'm a Vine member and need to formulate an honest review, I decided to stick with it and do my homework.First, I removed them from the house and put them on the front porch.. (aah.. so much better.. lol). Left them out there till the next morning and although they were much better (I could now stand in the same room with them at least), they still stunk. So, I washed them really well, dried them and put them out there again. I then started my homework and found out that, well, bamboo can stink. This being my first set of bamboo cutting boards (or anything bamboo kitchen related) I was unaware of that. I looked for all the ways to make the smell better and tried pretty much all of them. I washed them with Dawn, I've done vinegar, I've done salt and lemon. Unfortunately we don't have any sun right now but I did leave them outside on the porch for 4 full days, in-between all these washings. The good news.. they smell soooooo much better and I can actually stand to have them in the house full time now.. YAY!My take on this.. These come tightly wrapped from the manufacturer. I believe if they were packaged different they would have a chance to air and not be so smelly when you receive them. But, they are not, so if you order them and are at all sensitive to smells, be prepared for this. Even though this is probably the natural smell of the bamboo (I don't know for sure, but guessing from what I've read), I am knocking off a star due to the packaging.Now that I have cleaned them 8 times with various methods and had them on the porch for 4 days, I have coated them in mineral oil (they were starting to look a bit dry from the excessive washing and treatment). They look great and although they still have a slight smell to them, I felt they were ready for use.I love them! I didn't want anything too thick as the place I store my cutting boards doesn't have a lot of room. I also didn't want anything too heavy. These fit both those bills. I love that they have the notch on each end to make it easy to pick them up. My favorite part might be the groove to catch juices. I might actually be able to get the cutting board to the sink without dumping juices all over my counter. I find them just heavy enough to not slide around on my tile counters during use, but still light enough for what I was looking for. I also love the 3 sizes that are included. I really am quite pleased with them at this point.In my homework sessions, I learned that bamboo can sometimes harbor smells of things that have been cut on them. I'm glad to know these methods now to remove those smells as well. Time is all that will tell how these will hold up, but I will definitely come back and update my review if I run into any unusual problems.