Butcher block top - is knotty pine unsafe?

Guys, please check me to see if I'm overreacting here, will you?

My Mom likes the doggone MOCKUP I did in cheap Knotty Pine from the BORG - so much so that she wants to use it as-is, instead of re-making it in maple. She goes on and on about how loves the look of the small knots. I was all set to just go with that, until just now, when I thought about bacteria. Bacteria lodging in any tiny nooks and crannies in those knots that cleaning just doesn't root out.

Is this a valid concern? If so, is there a food safe finish I could apply to seal those knots? (There are probably 20, and none of them are loose.)

My original plan was to simply rub it down well with some George's Clubhouse Wax. Now, I'm not sure that's sufficient.

I'd sure appreciate others' perspectives on this, especially if you make things that touch food.

Thank you!
Fred

pine is too soft even without knots

Can it be wiped down with bleach? That's what I would do until something happened that told me I shouldn't do that any more. When I was in the Army I never felt I could clean out my canteens well enough and was afraid something was growing in them.

So any time I filled them I added a tiny amount of bleach. And I drank the water with the bleach in it. It never cause me any problems. Tasted like crap but I was confident I wasn't drinking some kind of fungus. :)

Michelle, Paul - thank you.

Paul - bleach does wonders. I agree with you.

Michelle - my original thinking was "well, let her use up the pine top and then build a maple top." My workbench is just dimensioned lumber and it's held up fine. But after I read your comment, I went out and made a couple swipes across the grain of the mockup with a utility knife. This knotty stuff is noticably softer than the pine 2x4's in my benchtop. It's NOT going to last nearly as long. So I just got back from the yard with hard maple for the top.

Thanks again, both of you!
Fred

You could fill the knots with epoxy and then apply a several coats of polyurethane and let your mom use a plastic cutting sheet on the board to protect it from damage and reduce the risk of contamination, she can still wipe it down with a damp cloth. This would extend its life but would still be no match for hard maple.

If you just want the look you could epoxy the top like bar tops

Again the SEARS information model shows its wisdom: "Mom, the STANDARD model is for ordinary food served by people in a missionary position ( the one where the people are STANDing) to starving people with ordinary palates and believe in "eat now, worry about dying later"....Your cooking demands the Deluxe top".

Thanks guys! My Mom's cookin does deserve the maple. And that maple sure is pretty. When I get it done, I'll be sure to post a few pics.

Best regards,
Fred

We bought a newly constructed tract house in 1973. It had a breadboard that we pulled out and cut anything on it regularly. It was made from pine or fir with a hardwood edge that showed when not in use. We used it until I built a new kitchen after 20 years or so.

Nowadays that sounds like we lived on the edge, but a couple generations back it was considered normal. Not sayin' that was good or bad, just the way it was.

I would build her the maple one for sure.