Food Safe Coatings

[Syd Sellers]

Hi All,
For those that are looking for a food safe product to coat your bowls and goblets, have a look at this....
New, Versatile Food Grade Epoxy Resists High Temperatures & Harsh Conditions Tested and Certified to Meet FDA CFR 175.300

Product: EP42HT-2FGRelease Date: 05/19/2011

Master Bond is pleased to announce the release of EP42HT-2FG, a new food grade epoxy system. EP42HT-2FG has been independently tested and certified by a leading national laboratory to meet the stringent requirements of FDA CFR 175.300. It also was toxicologically evaluated to meet the NSF/ANSI 51.4.1 (2009) standard for food equipment materials.

Food grade certified epoxy EP42HT-2FG may be used across a wide variety of applications in the food industry, such as bonding and sealing metals, plastics, rubbers and other substrates, commonly found on food service equipment. Featuring high resistance to chemicals and many solvents, along with boiling water, fats and oils, it may be readily used as a coating for storage tanks, bins, hoppers, and other containment vessels. Capable of withstanding extreme conditions over the wide service temperature range of -60°F to +450°F (FDA certification done at the temperatures specified in the test protocol), EP42HT-2FG resists steam, radiation and frozen storage conditions.

 

[john lucas]

Very interesting but I would not use epoxy on products that contain food simply because I don't use hardening type finishes on food products. It's going to wear away or chip eventually and look bad over the long haul.

 

[Syd Sellers]

Food Safe Finishes

John, doesn't this hold true for all finishes known to man??? Most things do fall apart in time.
I think we should still give it a try and see how long it does last before we nip it in the bud. I can't even find a sample of this stuff to test. So unless the public can purchase the stuff it's not something to worry about.

 

[Jim Rinde]

Very interesting but I would not use epoxy on products that contain food simply because I don't use hardening type finishes on food products. It's going to wear away or chip eventually and look bad over the long haul.

John: If properly applied epoxies will not wear away or chip. I have a salad bowl that I made in 1988 from soft pine boards that I finished with epoxy. It has been in use since then and the coating is still in good shape with no cracks or chips. Since the wood is soft there are some dents. For salad bowls epoxy is the best finish if you choose the proper one. This one seems to be OK.

 

[Bill Boehme]

This brings up something that is occasionally discussed on the forums about whether certain finishes are FDA approved. Here is a link to Whitford Corporation, maker of fluoropolymer coatings that might help dispel some misinformation about that: Whitford

I think that the most important paragraph in the letter is the following:

It must be pointed out that the FDA does not have approval authority related to coatings. In spite of what you may have read, there is no such thing as an "FDA Approved Coating". Coating manufacturers must use materials that conform to the FDA regulations (such as 175.300) and follow good manufacturing practice in the formulation and manufacture of the coatings.
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[KellyDunn]

Jim is the only one I know who uses epoxy on his bowls. As you can see he swears by it. Since I have gone to a thinned down poly mix and buff back to the wood My salad bowls look great. They do soften a bit with use and cleaning. I think I am into about my 18th year with the poly mix. Used to use mineral oil. Looks really bad really quick. As a production turner I just cant see going to epoxy. Jim has offered tutorials on how he does it.

 

[MichaelMouse]

I think that the most important paragraph in the letter is the following:

It must be pointed out that the FDA does not have approval authority related to coatings. In spite of what you may have read, there is no such thing as an "FDA Approved Coating". Coating manufacturers must use materials that conform to the FDA regulations (such as 175.300) and follow good manufacturing practice in the formulation and manufacture of the coatings.

Generally Regarded As Safe as they say. Though they do differentiate between incidental contact and storage. For some, it's not enough that you can't find harm, you must prove that no harm can be done.

 

[Harry Robinette]

Woodcraft is selling a product called George's Club House Wax food safe Mineral oil and Bee's Wax mix that works very well as far as I can see. I've been using it for 6 or 8 months and love the fell and look of it.:cool2:

 

[Rick Doganiero]

Kelly,

Poly-mix - what are the ingredients that you use?

 

[Bill Boehme]

Kelly,

Poly-mix - what are the ingredients that you use?

You can thin it 50-50 with either mineral spirits or naphtha. Naphtha is my preference because it dries much faster. I have been using this mix for flat woodworking for a very long time.

 

[justaccord]

Forget the Masterbond

I have done a little search for "food-safe" epoxy, not as a finish but as a filler in a large salad bowl with an open defect in the bottom. I emailed Masterbond, and got this reply:


Thank you for your interest in Master Bond. We are a custom formulator of adhesives, sealants, coatings and potting compounds, which are used for high end applications in the aerospace, optical, medical, and electronic and oil/chemical processing industries.
We do not have a suitable product for your application.

 

[KellyDunn]

Sorry for not seeing this. I was gone teaching at the New Zealand symposium. Great folks and a super time.
My poly mix is gloss poly,you can use varnish also. I thin it with maybe a quart of paint thinner per gallon and I put in enough boiled linseed oil to give me 10 minutes of drip time on a drip rack before it starts to get tacky. I then dry with paper towels, I like bounty, and put it in my kiln overnight. I do check for the mix bleeding out of the pores or I have a huge hard mess to buff the next day. I have my mix in a trash can and lose it about every two months and start over. You can also use this as a wipe on wipe off. If I did that I would not add anymore linseed. And sealed in a can should last years. The linseed slows the drying. How thin and what to mix together is up to each person. If you did a third poly or varnish a third thinner and a third linseed you have just made a danish oil. I use poly because it is harder than varnish. I do lots of buffing with brown tripoli on my pieces.