Thread: Western Red Cedar Cooking Boards

Can be completely wrong but isn't the health issue with machining WRC purely related to the dust it generates and the negative impacts it has on your lungs as a result of breathing in the dust?.

Using something to add smoke to your favourite meat is nothing new and probably the biggest health issue is whatever is being bbq'ed rather than the stuff that is being burnt, unless you're using something treated which is a whole different kettle of fish.

Cool Runnings, a lot of North Americans have been cooking their Salmon this way for quite a while, & so far no untoward effects have emerged. Afaik, the oral toxicity of WRC isn't particularly high, & as tonzeyd said, the hazard is from the dust getting into your lower airways and setting up some complex pathology, which is a somewhat indirect form of intoxication. Apart from the product being cooked, the biggest health hazard from BBQs is the nitrosamines generated by singeing any meat - some people think these are even more dangerous to your health than consumption of lots of tasty, fatty meats.

Living is a dangerous business - it only has one outcome.....

Cheers,

Good replies Gents and as mentioned, it's more the dust in this instance that's a no-no.

I had not even heard of Nitrosamines until now and upon researching, that is one nasty bi-product given off in a number of ways -particularly cigarettes.

Will give this method of cooking a try-Afterall what's the worst that can happen!

Thanks-C.R.

WRC has the same OHS dust rating as MDF (0.5 mg/m^3) which is half that for softwoods.