Hi Cakers!

I read on a post a couple of years ago that applying Vodka or pure vanilla will sanitize a surface to make it food safe.

For example.  A lot of cakers use foam core board as a cake base or cake circles, instead of the normal cake circles you get at your local bakery store.  

Well, foam core is not food safe.  Someone recommended to use Vodka to sanitize it and when the alcohol evaporates, the surface is now food safe and there is no need to apply a clear food safe wrap over it.  Apply cake directly on the foam core would be fine....

Input????

I don't have a definitive answer but I personally wouldn't consider that food safe. Many products contain contaminants that can leech into food. The "unsafe-ness" has nothing to do with cleanliness. If you are using something that contains lead, for instance, no amount of sanitizing is going to make a difference.

I don't use foam core so it doesn't matter in my case but I wasn't aware that it's not food safe. I hope the decorators who use it put a cardboard cake circle between the foam core and the cake.

I wouldn't think that it's food safe either. It might be "disinfected" but I don't see how it alters the chemicals that went in to make the product. 

No. Foam core is porous and you can't sanitize it like that.

The alcohol in the vodka may sanitize the surface by killing bacteria, (there are cheaper ways to do that) but it does not neutralize toxic components within the product.  Paper has preservatives, dyes, chemicals to make it smooth and glossy, whiteners, and formaldehyde.  Particle board has preservatives,and strengtheners,  including formaldehyde.  Non food grade metals and ceramics often contain lead.  Any of these can leach out into foods that are in contact with them.  If a surface is not known to be food safe, it should be covered or separated by something that is food safe such as foil, cardboard separators, and food grade plastics.  

AThanks folks!! I will stick with covering the board with g lad press and seal. :-)

Hmm. I think you're onto something: a legitimate use for Glad Press-and-Seal.

(In my experience, it doesn't work any better than the worst cling-wraps for covering a bowl of leftovers in the refrigerator, lets go at the slightest bit of condensation, and leaves a residue that can't possibly be "Good Eats.")

I use foam core boards as my main cake base, but the cake itself goes on its own card board cake round, usually wrapped in press n seal.  I'll decorate the foam core to match the theme, but no, the cake does not go directly onto the foam core.

I don't like anything on my cake boards that can be cut/shredded easily with with a knife, i.e. saran, press 'n seal, foil, etc. 

I "sanitize" my foam core with vanilla extract or Everclear and then apply a thin layer of edible soy or bees wax (melted in the microwave and wiped on with a clean, lint-free paper towel), thus making my own "waxed" cake board.  Works like a charm.

A

Ooh, that's a good idea. I use the foil boards but I wouldn't have thought to use wax.

AYep to the wax. I also "paint"it on the parts of preserved flowers or wooden flowers/dried lotus pod stuff where it will touch the cake.