This is why other supposed “unsafe” finishes like blo, poly, lacquer, etc are considered food safe after curing. The metallic driers etc are encapsulated in plastic and unavailable.
You’re cherry picking. He said plastic-like material, not plastic.
All finishes leach when in contact with most anything else, your food. At a microscopic level, your food goes into the finish and finish into the food. This quote is from fine woodworking, “In order for a finish to be considered “food safe” by the FDA, the molecules that are leached into food from the finish must either be totally safe to consume, or they must be leached in such tiny amounts that your body can easily and safely flush them through.”
It’s further stated that within this, virtually all finishes can be called “foodsafe”. Are they safe? For whom? That FDA statement sounds a lot like, “should be fine, probably won’t hurt you none, or not much, anyway”.
So, 5% of people have nut allergies, and for 5% of those, Walnut is the issue. Heating destroys the offending protein, with the remaining 0% being encapsulated in a non toxic solid.
Plastics, lacquer, heavy metals are toxic at all levels to all people.
Not saying don’t use these things. We each decide for ourselves (and for our customers) what you might be comfortable with.
I’ve gone the route, as a few others have, that my finishes, and all the ingredients of which it’s made, are non-toxic and in fact, edible. I’m a bowl maker, so these things are important.