Everyone loves eat with beautiful dishes. But it took them an FDA recall to bother to check if their dinnerware contained lead. So if you have bought or plan to choose Home trends for your Holiday Dinnerware, here is some important information that you must know for a Merrier Christmas and a healthier Holiday.
There was an FDA recall in 2004, exposing the presence of unacceptable amount of lead in certain designs of certain dinnerware. But FDA is not known have officially released the list of dinnerware sets that contain lead. So, even major retailers still continue to sell recalled dinnerware.
In 2007, KUTV and Kenyon Consulting, Inc conducted lead tests on many dinnerware sets from diverse brands using a device called the XRF (X Ray Fluorescence Analyzer) Gun which can b used to detect the amount of lead present in a dish.
Why the test is useful and why not?
Since these tests are directly controlled by the FDA, they seem to be the only exhaustive (though not so exhaustive) list of those dishes that contain huge, medium and nil amount of lead in them. But they have added a disclaimer saying that the results do not mean that if a particular design turns positive for lead, the same dish which they hold at home may also contain lead. Since the dishes under the same name are manufactured at different factories at different places, there is a chance of one of them being of good quality and another being adverse.
What is the reason for lead in dinnerware?
Lead is added to dinnerware to make it strong and durable.
Which brands are safe to use?
In the partial list which the organization has revealed, Pfaltzgraff, Sengware, Corelle, Fiesta do not contain lead. But whether or not Home Trends Dinnerware contains lead is not clearly said yet.
Does Home Trends Dinnerware contain lead?
From the list released by KUTV and Kenyon Consulting, we can find that out of all Home Trends Red plates taken as samples, some tested positive for lead and some others negative. But elsewhere in Chicago Times, Karen Klages says that though Home Trends dinnerware contains lead, it is below the FDA limits. But he goes on to say that the FDA’s standards are themselves very low!
Does is hurt if a dinnerware just contains lead?
The XRF gun can only detect the amount of lead present in a dish. It cannot if the lead can leach into food, which the FDA is interested in. As long as lead is just present in the dinnerware and not leach into food, it’s not dangerous. So even if lead is added to the dinnerware, if it is bound within the glaze it will not leach into the food. That explains why FDA’s permissible lead limits are lenient. All that matters is how much of the lead leaches.
So, how do we detect the leaching?
13 investigates tested the leaching amount for some bowls which had high lead content. Though some cheap quality bowls leached, not many bowls leached. One bowl whose brand they refuse to reveal leached 15 ppm of lead while the FDA’s allowable leaching limit is just 2 ppm. California and Massachusetts have a stricter leaching limit of .100 ppm which many brands fail to satisfy.
While this is FDA’s point of view, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement (CPSC) denies that the glaze could act as a protection against lead leaching. Whatever said, the glaze itself could give way gradually due to usage and heating in the microwave.
Stay away from Antique Dinnerware
Studies say that old dinnerware sets may have lost their glaze due to wear and tear and may no longer be safe to use. Moreoever FDA became strict in ensuring lead limits only after 1970. So the ones manufactured before may possibly contain lead. Also when a dinnerware has chipped, they say it is better not to use it.
Common observations
- People suspect China products to contain lead. Though some plates from China do contain lead, not all of them are of cheap quality. Some brands that are made in US contain lead themselves.
- Dinnerwares with loud colors have more chance of containing lead. That is why I suggested simpler designs for Holiday Dinnerware rather than having Santas and Reindeers occupy your entire plate.
- Out of the two pieces of the same design and from the same brand, one might contain lead and one might not.
So the best way to know if your dinnerware contains unsafe lead is by getting them tested.
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A common question that is often asked is what’s so different about leading compared to managing. It is a great question and a quick search on the internet will reveal the huge diversity of views on this apparently straightforward question. So in this article I am going to offer my perspective on what leading is really about.