Pete - you know full well the point I am making. The established practice for chipping boards is to use wood from trees where the fruit is edible by humans. Even water kills if over consumed, but the point is that chopping boards are used to prepare food that can be consumed by anyone, and the cook will not necessarily know what allergies or sensitivities they have. There is simply no sense in using materials that are known to have significant toxicity.
Perhaps I should add that I used to own a restaurant and perhaps have a heightened awareness of food safety and the draconian rules surrounding it. which may make me paranoid ;-) There is a lot of research around into what constitutes food safe surfaces. Personally for domestic use I prefer end grain maple as it is kind to very sharp knife blades (the wood is not too hard), self healing, and reasonably durable. Canadian hard rock maple end grain is traditional. A lot of the Italian makers to the trade are using Acacia. I use these for meat and fish prep:
http://www.butchersequipment.co.uk/pro- ... -40-x-10cm. Weighs a ton but very good!
