FSOriginal3a

Water-proof and Alcohol-proof

We are always looking for a finish that can be used for serving wine and other alcoholic beverages. We want a finish that will give our turned goblets and drinking vessels the same durable, waterproof, and washable glass, china, or plastic. No matter what we do, the finish isn’t permanent, and it definitely doesn't stay waterproof, and we still wonder whether it is safe to use with food.

The closest we can get to truly "waterproof" are the harder film finishes, such as a Polyurethane Resin or an Epoxy. They form a hard waterproof coating on the wood. However, they are not "vapor proof". That same exposure to air and sunlight that will turn a clear epoxy yellow with age will also allow some amount of water vapor through into the wood. The wood will expand as it absorbs this moisture vapor. It will also expand from the heat from a hot liquid. Hairline cracks will develop in the hard surface of the finish. These cracks will let the liquid under the coating, and it will happen faster if it is alcohol. Nothing looks worse than a gloss finish that is coming off, and our concerns about food safety continue.

I subit that the same "Bare Wood" finish as described on the previous pages may also be the best alternative for a drinking goblet, and for the same reasons.

I have had some recent success with coating the inside of goblets with CA glue, and then sanding it smooth after it has cured.

"Is it Food Safe ?"

We need to be able to answer a question about food safety with a confident, "Yes". No explanation. No qualifications. We have already lost the sale if we have to explain the chemistry of the finish we have put on a salad bowl.

"Food safe" is always a concern, and a source of confusion among woodturners who are making salad bowls. Our concern is because we don't want to be sued for poisoning someone. Our confusion is because there are a few finishing products labeled as "food safe", and this implies that those not so labeled are not. The realities are that there is no difference in their ingredients, and that no woodturner has yet been sued because of something they used to finish a bowl.

There is no evidence that anyone, anywhere, has been harmed by the finish that has been put on a piece of wood in the past 30 years since 1978.

Another important fact in this discussion is that most of the public doesn't care and never asks because they understand as much or more about using wood with food than we do. Some of the public is confused because our food supply has been the topic of wrong and conflicting information in the press and other media. Then there is the smaller group who want to believe that we are trying to do them harm; and for them, there is no acceptable of explanation. Unfortunately, these are usually the same people who want to use a wooden bowl for their vegetarian diet. Also for them, I have a solution that I will discuss later.

As woodworkers, we have been told many times that all finishes are "food-safe" to eat from or children to chew on after the solvents have evaporated, and that 30-days is the recommended waiting period.

I prefer the rule that says,

"It isn't ready if it smells like paint"

Many of the thinners we use may take longer than 30-days to evaporate in cool or moist weather. Again, we need to be able to answer, "Yes", to the question about food-safety. If it doesn't smell like paint, that question will never be asked.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval

What does it really mean?

FDA approval of a finish has reached the status of a Urban Legend among woodturners. But do any of us really know what it means? Let's get two things straight to start with.

The FDA does not "approve" anything. The FDA is a Federal regulatory agency. As such, it writes rules and regulations; and it has written regulations for the use of oil and varnish wood finishes with food. These can be found in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Part 175. These regulations are available on the Internet or at a large public or University library.

These regulation only apply to oils and varnishes. Shellac is addressed in the Regulations as it is used as a coating on food and medicines, but not as a surface finish on wood. Lacquers, epoxies, and the non-drying oils are not covered under the Regulations.

What do these Regulations say??

Although no specific finishing products are mentioned, there is a long list (10 pages) of the ingredients that may be used for finishing wood. The list includes every common oil, resin, dryer, or additive that we could use in a wood finish, and a lot of things that we have never heard of before. Lead is not included in this list.

The concluding notes state that there is no 100% guarantee of safety because of individual differences in tolerance and allergic reaction to any of the listed ingredients

What do these Regulations mean to us??

- These FDA Regulations are much ado about nothing. EVERY oil and varnish finishing product that we can use on the wood is "safe" because all of their ingredients are on the list.

- A product label saying "FDA Approved" has no meaning because any finish made from the listed ingredients is in compliance with the Regulation.

- It is not an absolute 100% safety statement. Someday, somewhere, somebody will be found with an allergy to whatever product we put on the wood.

- The FDA Regualtion applies only to drying oils and varnishes. We don't know about shellac, lacquer, epoxies, and whatever we can put on a piece of wood. Mineral Oil is covered under other regulations. . Shellac is covered in the Regulations as a food coating, but not as a wood finish.

What about the Drying Agents??

A lof of discussion has taken place on the Internet, and wherever woodturners gather, about the safety of the metallic dryers that are used in oil and varnish finishes. Except for the finish that is a pure Nut Oil or Raw LinseedOil, everything we can buy as a wood finish has some drying agents added to them. Without the addition of these dryers, these finishes would take weeks to cure, and some of them would never cure. Even the Nut Oils, like Tung and Walnut, that are labeled as "100% Pure" have driers added to them.

These "drying agents" are in the form of metallic salts. Lead driers were once commonly used in finishes, but they have been removed from our oils and varnishes since the 1978 CPSC directive. The lead compounds have been replaced with metallic salts of cobalt, manganese, and zinc. Our oil and varnish finishes would,'t cure without them. There is no indication that these driers cause health problems. They are included in the list of FDA ingredients.

Cured finishes are not digested, but pass through our body unchanged. Any very small amount of dryer is captured within the cured finish and would pass through our body with the finish. The emphasis is on the word CURED.

My solution to the issue

There are several things we could do. We could be overly sensitive to the remote risk of somebody having a problem with something we have put on a piece of wood. Or, we could ignore that problem and hope it will stay that way. Instead, I have taken a more practical approach because a lot of the buyers of wooden salad bowls are those same people who are overly concerned about "safety". I finish bowls three ways and give them a choice.

The "Traditional Finish"

The inside of the bowl is finish the same as the outside, with an oil/varnish finish. This the preferred option for people buying a salad bowl. I just make sure that it doesn't smell like paint, and the question about food safety never gets asked. Most folks prefer a "finished" bowl.

Bare Wood

The inside of a working salad bowl is BARE WOOD, and it may well be the ultimate in food safety for all things we turn for use with food or beverage.

Wood has its own natural ability to absorb and become a part of its environment. We can learn something from our ancestors who used wood for food utensils, drinking goblets, and bowls for a thousand years before our modern finishing technology was developed. The wood was preserved because it was saturated with the oils and fats from the foods that were served in them. The wood absorbed its environment and developed a durable patina from daily use. Some wood species were avoided when the wood itself was known to be toxic.

I find that it is much easier to explain the merits of “no finish” than a “food-safe” finishing product to a potential user. I show them a well used salad or serving bowl, and explain that they, and the foods they serve, are a part of the final “finish” on the wood. This argument is made easier because most folks are familiar with using wood in their kitchen as spatulas, cutting boards, tongs, etc.; and all of these are bare wood that they can sanitize with a weak bleach solution. They are also familiar with fruits and vegetables being shipped in wooden crates, again without a finish on the wood.

It is always an option to finish the OUTSIDE of a useable salad bowl with a durable finishing product such as Tung Oil/Varnish, and leaving the inside as a bare-wood natural finish.

The Edible Finish

Another solution to the safety issue is to use something on the inside of the bowl that is kown by all to be edible. My preference for an edible oil finish is any that offers a pleasant aroma to the bowl, and doesn’t become rancid with age. Hazel Nut oil offers both of these. A true Citrus Oil is also a good choice. Do not use the products sold as “Lemon Oil Finish”, because they are nothing more than Mineral Oil with some color and odor added to it.

I like to use Sunflower (not to be confused with Safflower) Oil. It will not become rancid, and the first person with an allergy has yet to be discovered. It can be given a more pleasant odor with a few drops of Lemon or Orange Extract.

A coating of natural beeswax can be used as a safe temporary protection that adds a soft gloss and a pleasant aroma to the wood surface. Richard Raffin recommends using candle wax (paraffine). Either will rapidly wear away, leaving the wood to develop its own patina through continued use, and the recommended frequent applications of salad oils.

I also like to use a Lavender Oil Wax that is imported from Great Britain. It is an excellent wax, and has a pleasant aroma. We could accomplish the same thing with the addition of a few drops of Lavender Spike Oil to our Carnauba paste wax.

I have been pleasantly surprized what a little "aroma therapy will do for bowl sales. A buffed coating of a scented wax will also help the sales of bowls with the traditional finishes.

NOTE

There is an excellent article on this topic, "Food-Safe Finishes", by Bob Flexner; American Woodturner; Spring, 2008; Vol. 23, No.1. This is the official puiblication of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW).

The conclusion of the article is the same as mine in the following article - There is nothing to worry about when any of the oil finishes are dry or cured. Put your nose close and smell it. If it smells like paint thinner, it isn't cured. Read the article for more details.