How To Tell If Ceramic Contains Lead

New research shows no level of lead is safe.

How to tell if ceramic contains lead.

When purchasing handcrafted tableware ask questions about the product including the pottery or ceramic material used and if the paint and glaze are lead free. If ceramics are baked for. Move from the glaze into food stored in or on the ceramic ware. You may also want to look for the prop 65 label which restricts lead use to just a fraction of what the fda allows.

What should i look for. There are many thousands of kinds of ceramics used for cooking serving or storing foods and liquids. So how can you find out if your dishes have lead. No one has tested them all and you cannot tell for sure whether a dish has lead just by looking at it.

Lead is rarely found in plain white dishes. In most cases the consumer will rub the swab on the food contacting surface of the pottery. Lead continues to be added to dishes glasses cups and mugs. In most kits if the pottery contains lead that leaches onto the swab it will change colors.

When the glazes are properly formulated and fired at a high temperature the lead is sealed. However if they are not properly prepared and fired lead may leach i e. Home test kits can tell you if the dishes have leachable lead. Lead containing glazes or decorations on the outside of dishes or non food surfaces are generally safer to use.

These glazes sometimes contain lead to give products an attractive shine according to a 1988 report in the lancet. If you are in the bay area and would like to test your ceramic tiles or ceramic dinnerware or children s toys or jewelry for that matter for lead make an appointment at the center for environmental health in oakland and they will test lead in ceramics using their xfr scanner. Ceramic ware is glazed before entering a kiln to bake. However some types of dishes are more likely to have lead.

The only way to determine if certain crockery has lead is to test it. These tests are most useful in detecting high levels of lead.