Phosphate finishes and food safety?

[Tactical]

I have an Ontario Rat-3 with the flat phsophate finish. I'm considering it for multipurpose use including food prep. But I've only used either satin (Fallkniven F1) or coated (ESEE Izula) finish for food prep. Does anyone have any thoughts on the subject? Is it OK to use?

Thanks!

 

[CWL]

It's not poisonous when ingested. Personally, I wouldn't use it for more than occasional food prep.

Here's the MSDS,
http://www.steelscape.com/techsupport/pdf/zincphosphatecoated_msds.pdf

 

[Tactical]

It's not poisonous when ingested...

That's sounds too much like "Mostly Harmless"...

 

[knarfeng]

I wouldn't worry about toxicity. In regular food prep you won't dissolve enough of the coating to be significant.

It's not a paint. It's a conversion coating. That means it is an oxide layer. The oxide layer formed by immersing the steel in a solution composed primarily of phosphoric acid. The layer consists mostly of iron phosphate with some manganese or zinc in the matrix. None of those elements is particularly toxic. And like I mentioned, it won't dissolve in food-type pH so your exposure is next to nothing.