Tung Oil – A Natural Oil That is Food and Child Friendly

There are so many different types of oil products available today in the woodworking world, but perhaps the most natural and versatile of these oils is tung oil. Tung oil is an all-natural oil that hails from China and is valued for the durable, and water-resistant finish that it delivers. However, if you aren’t an avid woodworker, why is it important for you to know about this finishing oil?

Well, even if you aren’t actually using this oil on your own woodworking projects, it is important to be able to identify tung oil and understand what it means when a product is made with tung oil.

Tung oil is an eco-friendly and sustainable product that never has any harmful chemicals or VOCs. This means, if you are an eco-conscious shopper who wants to do your part to help the planet, you can feel good buying a wood item that has been finished with tung oil. However, there are even more benefits to finding products that are finished with this oil, as this not only means your products are eco-friendly, but food safe and child friendly as well.

If you are buying a wooden product for your kitchen, such as a cutting board, fruit bowl or serving dish—you want to carefully check and see what this product was finished with. Tung oil is a great option because it is all-natural, actually comes from the seeds of a tree and won’t put any dangerous chemicals near your food.

The same thing goes for kids toys, especially for babies who tend to put toys in and near their mouths. All natural tung oil is also a great product to have on hand if you are planning on refinishing and repurposing old kids toys. Perhaps you have old blocks, rocking horses or puzzles made of wood that have been passed down in your family. Treating these wood kids toys with a layer of this hardening, pure tung oil will not only help keep the toys in better condition and help preserve them—but help them stay kid-friendly as well.