Thread: Cutting Boards for a Butcher

Originally Posted by Xanthorrhoeas

I believe that any pure, food safe paraffin oil will do. Pharmacies often sell it - more expensive but you do not need much.

This is what I did today. Went to pharmacy and purchased a bottle (200ml - $7) works out cheaper than other food safe worktop oils and first coat looks promising. Apparently I should have a spoonful for myself at the same time and then head for the loo .
Regards
Les

two issues ...
what are the "food safe" handling procedures your butcher is supposed to follow? I have some recollection that washing is supposed to include sterilization at something like 80+ degrees C.

secondly, I recall reading somewhere that once a "non food safe" oil or finish has fully cured, the resulting material is "food safe". Does anyone know if this is true?

Hi Ian, your point is valid, and I believe that my butcher will be washing the boards the same way that he washes all the trays that he currently uses to display the meat products. So periodic oiling will be required and he understands that. I have seen many photos of upmarket butchers using wood boards to display meat products thereby projecting a "butcher block" look. My butcher is very successful in an upmarket shopping centre and he will in no way compromise his business.
A few proto-types will be delivered and after some experimentation, he will then decide whether to continue with the wood boards or not.
Regards
Les

Common practice to chemically sterilize surfaces with 10% chlorine bleach.
Biohazard Containment Facilities (Levels 1 & 2, I think) are routinely cleaned up this way.
80C wouldn't disturb a baked oil finish anyway.

Finishes which polymerize in curing have substantially different chemistries, usually becoming quite inert from the liquid stock form.
It should report this on the label or check the MSDS sheet.

I make a lot of boards and not only do you need to consider food safe you also don't want the meat flavoured with oil. Watco butcher block oil is my pick 2-3 coats and leaves a gloss finish. Food safe mineral oil is a popular finish with customers, and grape seed oil will do the same job.

Originally Posted by brit

I make a lot of boards and not only do you need to consider food safe you also don't want the meat flavoured with oil. Watco butcher block oil is my pick 2-3 coats and leaves a gloss finish. Food safe mineral oil is a popular finish with customers, and grape seed oil will do the same job.

Hi Brit, thanks for this info. I would like to experiment with the Watco product as well. Where do you purchase this?
Regards
Les

Some good info here thanks.

I am also making a special order board and was wondering what grit to use on the final sand.

I'm currently experimenting with a few things.

Did an end grain board in Vic ash a month or so ago. Glued it up with tight bond 3, finished with OSMO. Gave it to the brother and his wife with the instruction to put it in the dishwasher each time it is run, 2 or 3 times a week. Been more than 6 weeks now so say 15 cycles. By all reports it's as good as gold. I will see it mid next week.

Also been playing with the Robson Valley method using Orange Oil. On some Hoop Pine pot stirrers, that have deliberately been mis cared for, are fine and compare well with new product. Note, the ones in my drawer have been used twice a week for about 2 months, have been left to soak on numerous occasions and bashed against the side of the pot.

Some Vic Ash soft cheese knives treated similarly have faired well. I reckon though there needs to be a slight variation on the method of application. I have had better results soaking overnight, cooking and resting, washing, another light fine sand, soak and cook again. They end up quite luxurious to the the touch.

Yup. One of the Gas Laws in Physics. Oils don't oxidize in woods where there's no oxygen any more.
Even if it did, it's down inside the wood, boiling water can't move it so there's nothing to taste.

I'd like to see the Iodine Numbers to demonstrate that olive oils can heavily oxidize in a matter of seconds in cooking.

Cava: I did a birch dish with bee's wax. The result was as waterproof as you could ever hope wood to be.
Biological waxes all melt approx 60C, maybe less. I painted on the beeswax and into the usual 325F/175C oven.
Because of the wood mass, it took about 5 minutes to get the bubbling (Charles' Law expanding hot gasses.)

The painting process made an awful spattered mess in my kitchen. The result was consistent with oil applications.

G'day Les,
I give the Feast Watson Tung Oil a tick of approval, to a point. However, over the past forty years of doing joinery and making a few Chopping/cutting boards the best solution I have always used is good old cooking oil - a cheap olive oil - soak each surface over night. Safe as houses food and chemical wise. When it needs to be cleaned, a half cut lemon rubbed over the surface with some pure Himalayan salt washed off with boiling water, dry with a paper towel then smear another coat of cooking oil over the surface to soak overnight again - this is dependant on how often you use the board.
Regards,
David.

Sorry fells this always happens.
This issue has been well and truly researched and addessed .... there will always be those who think they know better or say "I've been doing this or that for ages".

Facts are facts
Some of them have from time to time been published by regulators too.

There is simply no vegitable oil that is suitable for cooking or food impliments ...... every damn one of them causes one problem or another.
Going rancid
Having a tainting flavour
providing food or a favorable envionment for microbes

The only "natural oil" that come close is "wallnut oil".

As far as tung oil ..... first you have to find pure Tung oil, most of it is adulterate or diluted with something or has metalic driers added ....... then there are arguments yes or no, is it toxic and how much and does it taint, even in its purest natural form ....so you are satisfied that it is safe ....... is it certified as such... leave it alone

Yes there are food certified or claimed food certified oils ......... get that in writing quoting who is certifying and who tested it.

The bottom like is the safest thing is food grade or pharmacy grade parafin oil ....... it is clean white hydrocarbon that has no taste and is pretty much inert..... it does not react and it does not polimerize .......... if a health inspector asks what was used, and you say food or pharma grade parafin oil you will have no argument.

Bees wax .... oh great ...... do you have a food safe certification for that ....... yeh thaught not.

what you use at home is one thing ...... safe for handles is another thing ....... safe and appropriate AND CERTIFIED for use in a commercial environment is another all together.

If it was my business, reputation and public liability involved I would not be using anything other than a certified product.

OH BTW ...... how good is your insurance ........ if it all goes bad, that butchers insurance company will come looking for you .... so ..are you feeling lucky.

cheers

We certainly live in a very heavily regulated world and litigation is something that needs to be considered. Public Liability insurance is expensive, and, believe me, even if you have paid the premiums your insurer will walk away from you if you have not used a certified safe product - it is in the fine print that you have do do everything correctly, or have evidence to prove that you have considered all aspects of what you do, to be covered.

One aspect of this though is what is certified? Certified for what? Certification costs money.

But, I also think that no lawyer would be able to sue you for using the food safe oils like olive oil, grape seed oil and walnut oil. If you can safely ingest it then a court would send a litigious protagonist packing for claiming that you should not have used it. I also doubt very much that they could make a convincing claim that beeswax is unsafe for humans.

I don't sell products like these so I'm safe from litigation anyway. However, for use in your own home it can be fun to try different techniques and I have read this thread with interest. I have proof that Robson Valley's technique works with paraffin oil and I have no doubt it works well with bees wax, olive oil etc. Thanks to all contributors for refreshing the recurring question.

david

A rather 'spirited' response from soundman.

Originally Posted by soundman

Sorry fells this always happens.
This issue has been well and truly researched and addessed ....

It would be great if you could provide links to this.

Originally Posted by soundman

Bees wax .... oh great ...... do you have a food safe certification for that ....... yeh thaught not.

As far as I'm aware, Beeswax (white and yellow) is a listed food additive with Food Standards Australia New Zealand - INS number is 901 (INS = International Numbering System for Food Additives). It can be purchased with or without organic certification (certification from ACO; NASAA; OFC etc).
If don't want to make your own mix i.e. mineral oil and beeswax (4:1), you could always purchase an off-the-shelf product like this: Butcher Block Conditioner