"Food-safe filament" is not the same as a food-safe part
A filament spool labeled food-safe describes the raw polymer under controlled testing conditions, not the part that comes out of your specific printer with your specific nozzle, settings, and post-processing. Several separate factors stack up between raw material and a genuinely safe food-contact item, and skipping any one of them undermines the claim. This tool is a boundary checklist covering those factors, deliberately not a yes/no verdict, since no home printer setup can actually certify food safety.
How the checklist works
Each factor you enter, nozzle metal, sealing, and contact type, adds or removes a specific concern from the result. A brass nozzle raises a leaching concern independent of filament choice. Every FDM part, regardless of material, carries a layer-porosity concern that only a genuine food-safe sealing coating meaningfully addresses. The contact type sets how much scrutiny is warranted, with direct repeated contact treated as the case least suited to an informal checklist answer.
Worked example
PLA on a brass nozzle, unsealed, for direct repeated contact: the checklist flags the brass leaching concern, the unaddressed layer-porosity concern, and marks direct repeated contact as the highest-scrutiny case, concluding the part should be treated as non-food-contact unless properly certified, not partially excused by PLA's general reputation.
A common mistake
A frequent error is treating a filament marketed as "food safe" as if that label covers the entire finished part. The label describes the raw polymer under controlled testing, not your specific nozzle, print settings, and cleaning routine, all of which can reintroduce the concerns this checklist covers. Do not let a favorable material label skip the rest of the checklist.
Limitations
This tool cannot and does not certify food safety. It surfaces the standard boundary concerns so you can make an informed decision, not a definitive one; your specific jurisdiction's food-contact regulations may add requirements beyond what is listed here.