Is Tung Oil Food Safe? Let’s Find Out!

Our earth has an abundance of oils. With all these types of oils on the market, it gets quite tough to determine whether a specific oil is food safe or not. When it comes to exotic oils like tung oil especially. 

So, you might be wondering is tung oil food safe?

Yes, tung oil is absolutely food safe. Tung oil is a naturally derived oil from the tung tree. It is used to cast a clear polish on woods and wooden surfaces. Various types of organisation like the FDA has deemed tung oil to be food safe. So, tung oil can be used on wooden cutting boards and utensils. 

Still, confused regarding the entire topic? Well, our in-depth guide is here to help you with that.

Let us dive in!

Is Tung Oil Food Safe

Tung oil is a natural drying coat with a moist appearance. It’s a common material for wooden kitchen equipment. But many people wonder if tung oil is food safe. 

Yes, tung oil is absolutely safe. Tung oil is a natural oil derived from nuts that are generally considered safe. 

Tung oil food is considered safe by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, utilizing it for food packaging requires an FDA letter of no objection. 

Tung oil may be used to polish cutting boards, butcher blocks, hardwood surfaces, and wooden cutlery, among other things. However, it is safer to wait for the tung oil to cure for up to 30 days.

Though all tung oils are safe, different kinds of tung oil’s safety may vary.

Different Tung Oils Food And Their Possible Health Hazards

Tung oil is available in a variety of forms on the market. And at first glance, they all might seem similar. But their ingredients differ making some of them more suitable than others.

Pure Tung Oil

Pure tung oil has a minimal amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as it has no solvents. This makes natural tung oil one of the safest.

Extra additives, VOCs etc are elements that generally make a product unsafe. So a lack of these products deems something as “safe.”

Pure tung oil is the safest variant. Though it is extracted from the poisonous tung tree, it is non-toxic. But though it is the safest, pure tung oil might always not be the best option.

Oil/Vanish Blends

This variant is a mixture of Tung oil and mineral spirit as solvents. The vanishing blend has a faster drying time. 

During curing, there might be a smelly or even unhealthy fume. Wearing masks is recommended. The instructions must also be followed properly.

The existence of solvents makes the vanishing blends more hazardous than pure tung oil. But fret not, this variant is also deemed food safe once it is fully cured though.

Wipings Varnish

The wiping varnish is an oil-based finish that has minerals and soybeans cooked with tung oil in resin. It has a faster drying time than pure tung oil and is easier to apply. 

Although wiping varnish may be labeled as ‘Tung oil finish’ or similar. You can really tell if it’s a varnish by looking at the ingredients. It is a wiping varnish rather than pure Tung oil if it contains any added petroleum distillates.

Wiping varnish is also food safe once fully cured. But during the oxidation process, some chemicals are released. These are of no risk to a healthy person but can cause allergic reactions.

As we already said, extra chemical additives and VOCs make tung oil, or anything as a matter of fact, unsafe.

Wiping varnish contains some VOCs and is the farthest from pure tung oil. Though it cannot be considered hazardous, it is the least safe blend. 

Is Tung Oil Safe For Cutting Boards?

Tung oil is completely safe for cutting boards. Pure tung oil and Vanish blends, if cured properly, poses no risk. 

Most tung oils are odourless, colourless, and don’t go rancid. These features make tung oil perfect to use in cutting boards.

Tung oil is also FDA-approved for usage. That includes using it in cutting boards.

Alternate Food Safe Finishes

Tung oil is not the only wood finish. The other available options might be a good suit for anyone looking for a wood finish.

Pure Tung Oil Wood

Pure tung oil gives the best finishes on woods. This is food safe and provides a professional look to woods. It contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and produces a beautiful, long-lasting finish. 

However, if it is not blended with solvents, it is difficult to apply. As a result, it is not at all beginner-friendly.

Mineral oil

One of the greatest food-safe oils for wood finishes is mineral oil. It can be even used for skincare. But the wood finish requires regular maintenance.

Failing to do the regular maintenance of mineral oil will result in its quality degrading over time. After a certain time, it may even not be food-safe anymore. 

Beeswax

Beeswax is an excellent natural and non-toxic finish. It is hundred percent food safe.

But it provides less protection than other finishes and requires regular reapplication. On top of that, extracting beeswax can harm the bees. So this option is not cruelty-free. 

How Long Until Tung Oil is Food Safe?

Generally, everything is safe until its shelf life is over. But tung oil food does not have any shelf life of that kind.

After using tung oil on any wooden tool, the oil is safe to use forever. That is if the tung oil foods are cured properly. They do not have an expiry date. Once cured properly, they are safe as long as they last.

FAQs

Conclusion

With that, we’ve reached the end. Now we can safely answer the question of is tung oil food safe. It is most definitely safe. 

Tung oil is a natural drying oil. Some variants have some extra VOCs but even those are mostly harmless. So anyone and everyone can use tung oil foods without a worry in their minds.

Until next time!