Food Safe??

[bayea]

I have been making the Autumn leaves, staining them then putting on a clear finish.
I am getting questions regarding how "food safe" they are and i dont know how to answer.
How should i answer this question?

[Kenm810]

I just did a quick Forum Search ("Food Safe") and found 15 Threads of posts on the subject -- some interesting Reading!!

[bayea]

I have read thru most of those posts and i still have not gotten a clear answer if its "safe" to put food on wood dishes that have been stained then clear coated.
I am referring to food such as cheese & crackers, unwrapped candy that kind of stuff. . . .

[dbfletcher]

You probably need to err on the side of safety and assume if the finish does not say food-safe, it should not be used to hold/serve food items.

Perhaps this post helps:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Skill....aspx?id=26893

[Sallen1215]

When i turn bowls i tend to use General finish brand salad bowl finish. It is a clear coat with various gloss

Hope this helps

Stephen

[chebytrk]

where do you buy the general finish brand salad bowl finish? Expensive?

[eelamb]

Food safe materials for finishing has been a touchy subject for years. Only a finish that has been tested by the FDA is considered to be food safe. This is mineral oil, walnut oil, boiled linseed oil, and salad bowl finish to name a few. Each batch has to be tested for the salad bowl finish, this is the reason it is twice the price. Yet finishes of today do not have the same heavy metals in them for drying as days of old. These new metals are lower in concentration today than in the past. Today's finishes are considered to be food safe after curing of 10 to 30 days (see manufacturer label for curing time). The heavy metals are encapsulated in the finish, plus the small amounts that may be scratched off, has smaller amounts of the heavy metal in them. Amounts so small they are considered to be safe.

In my bowl turning I use food safe salad bowl finish, mineral oil or walnut oil. I play it on the safe side, just in case.

[Kenm810]

Jerry,

I buy mine at a Rockler Store about 5 mile from me, if you can get their monthly flier
they often post a free shipping code number in them. http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...FYjBKgodylXvVg

Ps. I see Rockler has a new store in Richardson, Texas about 25 or 30 minutes from you.

[lawrence]

one of the most renowned finishers in the world, Bob Flexner, advocates that all of the non-metal containing (modern) finishes cure food safe.

I won't argue the point one way or the other, but will say that you have to be careful that some finishes may be "food safe" but may still cause allergic reactions in some folks-- (I've heard of this happening with some of the nut oils) for this reason I tend to use mineral spirits when I need a non-hardening finish. For hard finishes, shellac is food safe when made with grain alcohol.

Lawrence

[keninar]

An additional, respected source on this topic (and darned near any other wood finishing/tool related) would be Steve Mickley, Finishing and Refinishing Forum Host over at Wood magazine [http://community.woodmagazine.com/]. Should you be interested, slip into the Finishing and Refinishing forum and run a search on "Food Safe." Think you'll find verification of Mr. Lawrence's relay from Mr. Flexner - and a whole lot more.

Just my $.02

ken