Hi,
I have a pair of wooden salad spoons I bought in Argentina last year. They seem to be recently made, some kind of dark brown hardwood with a clear finish. After someone put them in the dishwasher a few times, the finish has turned dull and, more surprisingly, quite green.

I started sanding off the finish and planned to re-oil them with walnut oil. But now I am wondering, is it possible that the green discoloration is a sign of lead or other nasty stuff in the original finish? In most circumstances you would not expect nasty stuff in the finishes of food-contact items made or sold in countries with enforced regulations, but I just don’t know what the regulations are like or how well they are enforced in other countries. The green color is not limited to a thin film that is removed easily, I actually have to remove a bit of wood to get back to original brown. So either the finish was penetrating and has turned green, or it is the wood itself that has turned green.

Any insights? Thanks in advance!

Best
Morgan