Dumb question??

[MatthewZS]

So this may be as the title implies, a "dumb question" but I just can't seem to make 2 and 2 = 4 on this one. There have been many discussions of food safe finishes with few 100% definitive answers. The question not only of initial finish during creation but of care after the fact...... re-application and so on. I know I've got several and I bet everyone else here has at least one wooden or bamboo utensil that gets used for stirring, serving, cooking, etc..... thrown in the dishwater or the washer, NEVER a thought given for years. I've got a spoon that's followed me around for what must be 20 years now and a wood salad bowl I've had for 8 or so. I've never reapplied anything to anything. Is "food safe finish" just a selling point? Are we thinking too much into it?

Thanks

 

[ed4copies]

When "finishing" comes up, we could always count on Russ Fairfield to give an authoritative answer.

So, try this one:
http://www.woodturnerruss.com/FSOriginal3a.html

 

[Lee K]

Eds got as good a link as you can for that answer.

When it comes to selling something, you need to consider the fact that if you use something the CUSTOMER is uncomfortable with, they won't buy it.

My cutting boards, I use mineral oil ..... its food safe and everyone knows it. There is ZERO doubt in their mind.

 

[alphageek]

Definately NOT a dumb question and one that I've been looking into alot lately (for a new project that I'm starting).

Thanks for asking, especially since I hadn't seen Russ's answer! :biggrin:

 

[nativewooder]

Since mineral oil is a petroleum product, do you think you can trust "Big Oil"! In my under-educated mind, "food-safe" is a marketing ploy, given that some of the plastic things that have been sold in the past are now being found to have some toxic leanings, and when you understand that for the past several thousand years, people all over the world have drunk and eaten from raw wood containers, with no finish whatsoever, and no "modern" appliances, what does "food-safe" matter! I am confident that I can go camping and use the same old wooden mugs, bowls, and plates that I used twenty years ago, wash them out in the creek when I'm done, and not get sick. But I won't say that to the gentle folk who would rather go to a restaurant for some severely overpriced food that generally sees a fair supply of roaches and rats, etc, on a daily basis.:wink:

 

[tim self]

You want true food safe? Try caster oil then, never killed any of us did it?
Just wished we were dead.

 

[terryf]

This reminds me of when I was teaching - the only dumb question is the one you dont ask! unless of course you're like the blonde and her partner who were running along the beach when the blonde turned to her partner and asked him, "how high are we above sea level?" in which case stay away from power tools