[Humble Abode]

What kind of sealent can I put on a hardwood cutting board that is safe for food? Are most cutting boards just left natural or do they have some sort of coating on them?

[Mike Finley]

There is more than one safe finish, but without going into too much details and explanations if you stick with unmixed oils such as pure tung and raw linseed oil you will be safe. You can also use pure walnut cooking oil, even peanut and olive oil have been used but those won't dry enough and can go rancid so I wouldn't go there. There are also a bunch of mixed oil products some commercially sold some not but those get more complicated because you have to be sure of what you are buying and using in order to be safe.

[Humble Abode]

Originally Posted by Mike Finley

There is more than one safe finish, but without going into too much details and explanations if you stick with unmixed oils such as pure tung and raw linseed oil you will be safe. You can also use pure walnut cooking oil, even peanut and olive oil have been used but those won't dry enough and can go rancid so I wouldn't go there. There are also a bunch of mixed oil products some commercially sold some not but those get more complicated because you have to be sure of what you are buying and using in order to be safe.

Tung oil and Linseed oil would be perfect, I wasn't sure if they were food grade or not.

Thanks!

[sawdusted]

Humble,
I think what you are looking for is Behlen salad bowl finish available at Rockler or wood craft . beautiful finish safe and easy to use,I've used it on small projects and large it looks like a million bucks on butcher block counters.
Dan