Jim I am by no means a expert but can tell you any finish today is food safe if let dry a minimum of 72 hrs. For a low gloss finish and food safe I use General Finishes Seal-A-Cell and then followed by a couple of coats of Arm-R-Seal. I just follow the instructions on the can. I have several salad bowl sets I have sold usiing the above and all look pretty good after a 1 to 1 1/2 yrs. I have a couple of cereal bowls I have used 3 to 5 times a week over a year with that finish and they still look good. I made e-mail contact with Ernie Conover and he said he uses Minwax Antique Oil for all his finishes. He said he uses it as food safe which he says he let dry for a week or more before use and on his show items. He said the finish they advertise as Salad Bowl Finish is nothing more than a wiping varnish and is no different than the seal-a-cell and arm-r-seal. The antique oil is not real glossy unless you put on a lot of coats and I have found after 3 coats it doesn't do much good. I also have used Mike Mahoney's walnut oil and then followed by his walnut oil/wax mixture on some walnut plates we eat off of 3 to 4 times a week and they are in pretty good shape. I don't use wax on any of my utility stuff and just Renaissance wax on show stuff. I use lacquer and Antique oil on my lidded boxes, ornaments, mini birdhouses, etc.
