Food safe wood stain and sealer?

Hi, can any one recommend me some food safe wood stain and sealer and where can I find them? I know of something called milk paint but looking for something more like natural finish.
Thanks
HT

HT, Here's a couple sites where you could start looking,

Non-Toxic Salad Bowl Finish

This is a high quality, non-toxic kitchenware finish.
It is food safe when dry and is highly resistant to food and water stains.
We recommend this finish as one to use for craft show kitchenware as it can be touched up with mineral

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/st..._Finishes?Args=
http://www.woodturner-russ.com/fsoriginal3a.html

Hi...as far as I know...(and I have been painting for over 25 years) there is no food safe stain...what I do is stain the piece and then seal it...on a piece that is to be used for food I use a varathane sealer...I have never had any problem at all with this..I use this method when I paint wooden bowls...etc...you might google it and see what comes up...maybe...they now have something out there on the market...

Daphne

I can't help you any on the stain but I use mineral oil on my cutting boards. It won't go rancid on you either.

Wouldn't a waterbased dye be food safe? I've used fabric dye, but food coloring would also stain wood. It wood :D take some experimentation to get the right mix.

Thank you all.
HT

I actually saw the food safe stain and sealer at Lowes. I dont know if its unique to my location but i seen it in there before. Ive never tried it though..

HT here are a few more food safe finishes

Pure tung oil. Extracted from the nut of the china wood tree. Used as a base in many blended finishes. Available from catalogs and hardware stores. Difficult to apply, requires many coats, good water-resistance.

Raw linseed oil. Pressed from flax seeds. Not to be confused with boiled linseed, which contains metallic driers. Listed as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Very long curing time, good looks, low water-resistance, frequent reapplication.

Mineral oil. Although derived from petroleum, it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and entirely inert. Sold as a laxative in drug stores and as a wood finish in hardware and kitchen-supply stores. Simple to apply, low waterresistance, frequent reapplication.

Walnut oil. Pressed from the nuts of the walnut tree. Sold as a salad oil in health food stores and in large grocery stores. Walnut oil dries and won't go rancid. Easy to apply, frequent reapplication.

Beeswax. The work of the honey bee. Can be mixed with an oil to create a better-smelling, slightly more waterrepellent finish. Sold in woodworking and turning catalogs.

Carnauba wax. Derived from the Brazilian palm tree. Harder than beeswax and more water-resistant. Can be used straight on woodenware as a light protective coating or a topcoat polish. Sold in woodworking and turning catalogs.

Shellac. A secretion from the lac bug. Harvested in India. Super blond shellac in flake form is the most waterresistant variety. A film-forming finish. Sold in woodworking catalogs and hardware and art supply stores.

Nothing. Available everywhere. Makes a reasonable finish for woodenware. No application time. Free.

A recipe for one sweet finish
The food-safe finish that appeals most to me is one recommended by Jim and Jean Lakiotes, West Virginia makers of spoons and other kitchen items, as well as furniture. Their finish is a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax.

To make it, warm the mineral oil in a saucepan over low heat, and melt a chunk of beeswax in it equal to about one-fifth or one-sixth the volume of the oil. (At high heat, there's a potential for fire. Be sure to keep the heat low, and consider using a double boiler.) As the wax begins to flake apart and dissolve, stir frequently. When the mixture is blended, pour it into a jar to cool and solidify.

To apply, wipe on an excess of the soft paste, let it dry a bit, then wipe it off. If you want to apply it as a liquid, you can reheat it. Like any mineral oil or
wax finish that will take a lot of abuse, this one will need to be reapplied often to afford decent moisture protection. But applying this fragrant finish is such a pleasure that you may find yourself looking forward to the task.

Rav

Rav,

Thats what i call doing your homework ! Notting like good oldfasion research.

Thanks alot Michael

Thanks, I'll make a note of that.
HT

One word of caution on food dye............. I used it on some toys I made for my newest grandson and, of course, it ended up in his mouth. The toy plans called for this method of coloring, but he never actually used it on one of his children, I think! :) If you could get a seal on the wood, it would probably work......... until the sealer gets worn. LOL

ps. Mother wasn't happy with Father for not watching son closer! Gotta love grandkids!

Just a thought............... years ago when I lived in the land of the trolls (Lower Michigan), I bought a blackpowder rifle that was stained with coffee. I sold the gun long ago, but as I remember it, the color was dark, kinda like walnut. Because it was water based, I imagine the whiskers would need sanded down, but I would think it would be foodsafe.

Hey Ernie, from one of the troglodytes living in the land of the trolls

We often work with and restore Antiques,
For years it was quite common to use coffee, tea, even berry juices
to repair or color wood products. Some folks still do.
And yes I was a Buckskinner too and use coffee to color my Connecticut Arms 45 cal. Brown Barreled Mountain Rifle.
But thats another story from a life time ago. http://www.carvewright.com/forum/ima.../icon_wink.gif

What kind of wood would you recommend for a cutting board?

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Originally Posted by bdehoyos

What kind of wood would you recommend for a cutting board?

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Use any of the closed grain hardwoods. Maple, cherry, walnut are three of my favorites. Avoid the open grain woods like red oak or mahogany as there is the potential for bacteria to get in the pores.

I wrote a tutorial for another forum on creating end grain cutting boards if you're interested. (Lots of pictures)

http://woodworkerszone.com/wiki/inde...Cutting_Boards

Thanks , Very interesting !!!

I like Hard Maple for the cutting boards I make,the grain carves crisp,
without a lot of chip outs when you use a little draft
and it doesn't leave a ton of fuzzes the patterns or text.
I've carved both single piece boards and I've glued up 1" x 3/4" strips and alternated the grains and colors
to make up a butcher block type cutting board. Then finished them all by rubbing in some butcher block oil. http://www.carvewright.com/forum/ima.../icon_wink.gif

Wood cutting boards have been around for ever and yes they are still used today. But do to the pores in all woods they are not the item of choice by any health department. If you were to cut raw chicken and then wipe it "clean" it still would not be clean. You have a great chance of spreading salmonella poisoning. And to put a food safe finish on it still will not take care of the problem. Again, do to the pores in all woods. They look great, they work good, but any proper cleaning method will either remove the finish or just not do a good job of cleaning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leesheridan

Wood cutting boards have been around for ever and yes they are still used today. But do to the pores in all woods they are not the item of choice by any health department. If you were to cut raw chicken and then wipe it "clean" it still would not be clean. You have a great chance of spreading salmonella poisoning. And to put a food safe finish on it still will not take care of the problem. Again, do to the pores in all woods. They look great, they work good, but any proper cleaning method will either remove the finish or just not do a good job of cleaning.

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Someone in the last few months posted a research article showing that wooden cutting boards are much safer than other materials. Interesting that any remaining bacteria remaining on the surface after cleaning, are captured below the surface. HotPop posted the article. It should be read by all of us who make cutting boards.

Here it is:http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/fa...ttingboard.htm

Thanks HotPop

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eagle Hollow

Someone in the last few months posted a research article showing that wooden cutting boards are much safer than other materials. Interesting that any remaining bacteria remaining on the surface after cleaning, are captured below the surface. HotPop posted the article. It should be read by all of us who make cutting boards.

Here it is:http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/fa...ttingboard.htm

Thanks HotPop

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Wow an eye opener

Thanks !!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eagle Hollow

Someone in the last few months posted a research article showing that wooden cutting boards are much safer than other materials. Interesting that any remaining bacteria remaining on the surface after cleaning, are captured below the surface. HotPop posted the article. It should be read by all of us who make cutting boards.

Here it is:http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/fa...ttingboard.htm

Thanks HotPop

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In reading the above article I quote: Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. My wife taught the class in Calif. for Food Handlers Cards and to have our church complyent in the new kitchen I volunteered to get my card from the state of Oregon and the info for both states are the same. Wood will transfer bacteria far greater than closed surfaced materials such as granit, steel, glass, and plastic. Its not that wood can't be cleaned to a safe condition but rather that most people do not know the proper prcedure in which to do so. And then you have to ask what type of finish to put on that will with stand the cleaning process over and over and yet stay on to not only ad to the looks of wood but also protect from bactera.
Do you want safe or almost as safe?

If the idea of using some type of kitchen oil as a finish such as peanut, olive, corn or the like. Thats worse. The bactera stays with the oil longer.

This quote seems to indicate the advantage of wood over USED plastic. "However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present."

I think this line says it all, "We began our research comparing plastic and wooden cutting boards after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told us they had no scientific evidence to support their recommendation that plastic, rather than wooden cutting boards be used in home kitchens."

Since when does the government need credible scientific evidence before they go off half cocked? :)

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Originally Posted by Jeff_Birt

I think this line says it all, "We began our research comparing plastic and wooden cutting boards after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told us they had no scientific evidence to support their recommendation that plastic, rather than wooden cutting boards be used in home kitchens."

Since when does the government need credible scientific evidence before they go off half cocked? :)

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Amen, never that I know of !!

plastic can be placed in a dish washer as long as the water temp is high enough to kill bactera or a sanitizer is used. And that's with cuts on the surface.

I used bee's wax on some fruit bowls. The finish was made in the UK and was totally organic.

To confirm its organic qualities I had a bee show up while I was applying the finish and I had a difficult time getting him to go away.

I finally found a butcher block oil and finish by "Watco". It meets government certification for contact with food even though it is from petroleum distallates.

My daughter is into totally organic and insists on bee's wax for bowls and tung oil (natural)for furniture.

Quote:

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To confirm its organic qualities I had a bee show up while I was applying the finish and I had a difficult time getting him to go away.

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I can see the ad copy now, "So natural it even meets the approval of the bees themselves."

BTW, petroleum IS organic...:)