The Best Food-Safe Finish May Be None at All - FineWoodworking
www.finewoodworking.com
Seri Robinson, a professor of wood anatomy, agrees with the marketers of "food-safe" finishes that bacteria-especially salmonella, listeria, and E. coli-are a threat to human health. But, Robinson says, those finishes can undermine the natural antimicrobial properties of wood. If an unfinished wooden cutting board or spoon is rinsed after use and allowed to dry on all sides, the drying action will pull bacteria deep into the wood, where it will be trapped and die. A finish will keep bacteria close to the surface, where it will multiply.

Conventional wisdom regarding finishing cutting boards and other food prep surfaces is to coat them heavily with mineral oil and/or a food safe paste wax to “seal” and/or “condition” them. Seri Robinson asserts otherwise, her research has shown that any finish applied to wood decreases its natural anti-microbial properties.

  • gandalf_der_12te
    21·
    12 days ago

    TIL thanks

    i used food-safe oils in the past such as sunflower oil, especially for outdoor objects. for indoor-objects, i sometimes leave them without oil, but it does get more stains over time.