FDA Warning: 19 Types of Cookware May Contain Lead
The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about 19 types of cookware that may contain lead, increasing the risk of the toxic metal leaching into people’s food. Consumers should check whether they have the items at home and, if so, throw them away. The agency stated, “Do not donate or renovate this cookware.”
Affected Cookware Products
The suspect cookware, all made outside the U.S. and mostly in India, is made of aluminum, aluminum alloys, and brass that have been tested by the FDA and state authorities. The results show that they can leach lead into food. The FDA’s warning expands on its August warning about cookware, with the agency adding nine products to its list of items that must be discarded due to the risk of lead exposure.
Health Risks of Lead Poisoning
Lead poisoning can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, memory loss, and pain or tingling in the hands or feet. Children are particularly sensitive to lead, which can damage their brains and nervous systems and slow their growth and development. Women of childbearing age and new mothers who breastfeed their infants are also at risk of lead poisoning.
List of Cookware to be Discarded
The following cookware products should be discarded:
- Sonex aluminum pot
- IKM aluminum pot, size 2 with 9" wooden handle
- IKM 4-Quarter Pital Brass Pot
- Brass lid
- Lots 5
- Silver Horse Aluminum Caldero 28
- Silver Horse Aluminum Gradda 24
- Silver Horse Aluminum Gradda 20
- Silver Horse only 26
- Silver Horse aluminum milk pan 4
- Chef milk pan, 24 centimeters
- Hammered Aluminum Kadai Size 7
- Brass pot
- Dolphin brand aluminum pot
- 2L Aluminum Pot
- 3L Aluminum Pot
- Royal Kitchen cookware, milk pot size 3
- Tiger White alone
- JK Vallabhdas Aluminum Kadai
What to Do
A kadai is a type of wide pot used in South Asian cuisine, while a degda is a type of pot commonly used for cooking rice. A tope is another type of pot used in South Asian cuisine. The FDA encouraged retailers and distributors to contact the agency with questions about the safety and regulatory status of any products they sell that are used to prepare food.
