Friction polish - food friendly?

[gasmansteve]

Chaps
Got a bit carried away making a fruit bowl out of a piece of Ash, applied the sanding sealer then some Chestnut friction polish and then thought `b***cks is it ok to use with food ?? anyone advise please?.
Cheers
Steve

 

[gasmansteve]

Found the safety data sheet on the Chestnut web site and it only says `Harmful if swallowed` so I suppose its not ok to use with foodstuffs `buggar!`
Steve

 

[CHJ]

Don't think you have any problems using friction polish on items used for dry food.
It's the solvents that are refereed to in the safety sheets that are harmful and once evaporated the finish should be child safe. Terry will no doubt be along to confirm.

Some food products are actually coated in Shellac to give a gloss finish.

EDIT: from the Chestnut site FAQ's, friction polish is not specifically mentioned but as shellac sanding sealer is, then I see no reason for friction polish not to comply.

The following products from our range have been independently tested and passed the relevant part of the EN-71 Regulations:

Acrylic Lacquer
Acrylic Sanding Sealer (both types)
Cellulose Sanding Sealer (both types)
Hard Wax Oil
Melamine Lacquer
Melamine Gloss Lacquer
Finishing Oil
WoodWax 22 Clear
Shellac Sanding Sealer
Finishing Oil
Acrylic Gloss Lacquer
Acrylic Satin Lacquer

 

[Terry Smart]

Chas is right that the 'harmful is swallowed' refers to the product in its liquid form, straight from the bottle as it were.

The only product we can recommend for food contact is Food Safe Finish. Others will no doubt state that they use one product or another for this purpose, Food Safe Finish is the only product in our range that is certified as safe for food contact. Ultimately, we have a responsibility to the user and will not make a claim we cannot prove.

The EN-71 regulations refer to being safe for toys and is not quite the same as food testing - the food test is much more detailed and covers more substances. Conforming to EN-71 infers food safety but again, it's not quite the same thing.

I expect that Friction Polish would pass this test but we don't consider it to be suitably hard-wearing for toys, hence we haven't tested it.

I hope that is of some help.

 

[gasmansteve]

Thanks Chas and Terry. I sort of assumed if it didn`t say not to use with foodstuffs then it would be ok to use if you can follow that reverse logic (or drivel :wink: )
Steve

 

[CHJ]

Thanks Chas and Terry. I sort of assumed if it didn`t say not to use with foodstuffs then it would be ok to use if you can follow that reverse logic (or drivel :wink: )
Steve

Shellac is produced by the Lac insect, Laccifer Lacca (Kerr), which like other scale insects of the super family Coccoidea, is naturally parasitic on certain trees and shrubs. In the larval stage the insect is about 0.5mm in length and sufficiently mobile to crawl on branches where it fixes its position. The insect inserts its proboscis into the branch to secure itself then secretes a protective coating of dark red chilinous scale and a resin called Lac.

The resin is mainly produced by the female who produces a resin to cocoon eggs that she lays. When the eggs hatch they eat the female as she dies naturally. When the newly hatched insects leave the cocoon it is then harvested to produce shellac. So it is very like honey in that it is a by-product made by the insect and then discarded.

The Vegetarian Society currently considers Shellac to be a vegetarian product.

Hence why many of the supermarket apples are nice and shinny and many chocolate coated treats don't melt in the hand. So unless the product is contaminated with high levels of heavy metals etc. during manufacture it should be safe to chew on let alone come into contact with foodstuffs.

 

[kasandrich]

Thanks Chas and Terry. I sort of assumed if it didn`t say not to use with foodstuffs then it would be ok to use if you can follow that reverse logic (or drivel :wink: )
Steve

Are you the chap that needs "Caution this tap may contain hot water" labels on hot taps? :lol: :lol: :lol: I always wondered why those labels existed, its for you isn't it?

 

[frugal]

Are you the chap that needs "Caution this tap may contain hot water" labels on hot taps? :lol: :lol: :lol: I always wondered why those labels existed, its for you isn't it?

If your hot taps are anything like the ones where I work then the signs are entirely appropriate "may contain hot water, may contain cold water" all depends on the state of the boiler on any given day

 

[kasandrich]

Are you the chap that needs "Caution this tap may contain hot water" labels on hot taps? :lol: :lol: :lol: I always wondered why those labels existed, its for you isn't it?

If your hot taps are anything like the ones where I work then the signs are entirely appropriate "may contain hot water, may contain cold water" all depends on the state of the boiler on any given day

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[gasmansteve]

Which hot taps? Oh these hot taps! Ouch...... :lol:
Steve