Updated 2024
Pottery is made of clay and other natural materials; and for the better part of human civilization, it owed that attractive glossy finish to lead-and cadmium-ridden paint and glaze.
This is not the case anymore. Paints and glazes are now heavily regulated for lead and cadmium content, especially those that will be directly in contact with food.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) closely monitors trace amounts of lead and cadmium in crockery. Makers must guarantee their products never go above a set safety standard, to be allowed to sell their products in the US. These pieces are categorized as cadmium and lead-safe.
You probably noticed that it doesn’t say lead-free but lead-safe, and there is a reason for that. Even if all the materials used to make pottery are lead- and cadmium-free, there is always a chance for naturally occurring heavy metals to be present in trace amounts. This means there is no such thing as 100% lead-free ceramics.
However, you can certainly find pottery that is non-toxic and perfectly safe for everyday use.
The term “food-safe” has two components: the fired glaze finishing of the ceramic pieces and the amount of heavy metals that have the potential to leak into your food if the glaze coating is broken.
The FDA performs leach testing to classify pottery dishware as food safe. Even if the glaze contained lead or cadmium before firing the piece, it can still be marked as food safe if it meets the FDA standards. The maximum allowable tolerance for lead contamination in food wares can be viewed here and the maximum allowable tolerance for cadmium contamination in food wares can be viewed here. Read more about determining if pottery is food safe on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website here.
It’s important to note that food-safe and non-toxic are two different features of crockery and are not interchangeable. While food-safe refers to the post-firing state of pottery, non-toxic refers to the product in its pre-fired state.
Here are some things you can look out for when purchasing your home’s pottery dishware.
Be sure to check the items for labels warning whether they are or aren’t safe to use with food or drinks.
The FDA requires that unsafe ceramic pieces have a conspicuous stick-on label or permanent statement that warns consumers about it.
If you buy antique or handmade ceramics, especially those crafted before the 70s, they might have hazardous lead residues.
Be also wary of antique pieces handed down from generation to generation and those found in flea markets.
Old, bright-colored pottery in shades of yellow, red, and orange are more likely to have high amounts of lead. The heavy metal used to be added to make the colors brighter. Today, there are safe materials readily available which stain the paints and glazes giving them the bright and colorful pigments you see on modern ceramics.
You can buy a lead testing kit to check your crockery. These kits are usually sold in hardware stores, and you can easily apply them on your favorite items to make sure they are safe to use. Home test kits are not precise means of testing, however, they can give you a good idea whether your dishes are safe to use.
Here at Emerson Creek, we want to be certain our products are FDA and California proposition 65 compliant so we have samples of our pottery lab tested by professionals. You can view the technical results of those tests here.
You should always be wary of imported ceramics. This is especially true if they come from South America or Asia, and if they display particularly colorful and bright designs.
As noted above, lead makes the paint and glazing brighter and gives ceramic products that glossy finish we all love. Even if these lead-based materials are no longer allowed in the U.S., they might still do so in countries where regulations are lax.
However, you don’t have to test everything. What is one easy way to know how to tell if pottery is food safe? Plain white dishes rarely test positive for lead making them a very low risk.
Thanks to readily available non-toxic dyes and color pigments, Emerson Creek is able to craft brightly colored glazes, like our American Blue pictured above, which easily exceed both FDA regulations and California Prop 65 requirements.
Besides being lead-safe, there are other things to consider when buying food-safe pottery. These include being chip-resistant, microwave-safe, oven-safe, and dishwasher-safe. These features make the pieces very durable, and the glaze won’t break or crack easily, minimizing the potential for lead exposure.
When food-safe ceramic dishware is used normally, the probability of food being exposed to these heavy metals is extremely low. But, if acidic foods are stored for long periods in porous containers, the amount of dangerous substances leaching into the food can reach harmful levels.
A good way to minimize exposure is not to use pottery that you are unsure about.
As you are determining how to tell if pottery is food safe, if you don’t know if a piece is food-safe, the safest option is not to use it for everyday meals or drinks. This is particularly important for children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women, as they are more susceptible to the consequences of lead poisoning.
Buying pottery made in the United States is another way to ensure it’s compliant with FDA regulations.
If you want to feel even safer, buy ceramics that are compliant with California Proposition 65. The Golden State has gone above and beyond by establishing the strictest regulation when it comes to ceramic serveware. Read more about how ceramics and tableware are directly regulated by California Proposition 65 on the California Department of Health website here.
Don’t use items that might have a high leaching potential to heat food or drinks. Heat exposure, be it via microwave or stove, accelerates the leaching process.
Don’t use the dishwasher unless you are sure it is dishwasher-safe. The machine could damage the glazed surface and increase the probability of leaching. It can also cause cross-contamination of other dishware.
Don’t store food or drinks for long periods in ceramic containers, especially if what you are saving is acidic. Some examples of acidic food include tomatoes, citrus fruits, apples, soy sauce, fruit juices, soft drinks, coffee, tea, and alcoholic drinks.
Never use crockery with corroded glaze or if you notice a grayish residue on the glaze after washing it. These damages increase the probability of the heavy metal leaching into your food.
As long as you are careful to buy food-safe pottery, the risks of lead or cadmium exposure are minimal to non-existent. At Emerson Creek Pottery, our dishware is food safe, which means lead-safe and non-toxic. Because we know that your family’s well-being is above all else, we leave the lead out of all of our clays, paints, and glazes, and make sure all our finished pieces are compliant with California Proposition 65. We accomplish this by starting with only the finest and safest raw materials before we begin making our clays, glazes and paints. Read more about our process here.
Choose your pottery dishware well. This way, you can enjoy a lovely table setting that gives that unique feel to any meal without worrying about it being hazardous. You can always use the pieces you are unsure of as ornaments in your home.
This article was written based off our in-house knowledge and supported by the following sources. If you have any questions or remarks please leave a comment below or email us at hello@emersoncreekpottery.com
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8 Responses
I know some products can leach into food such as spaghetti and soups. But what about snack items like potato chips and pretzels, whee there is no liquis for any potential heavy metal to leach into?
Hi Steve! Thanks for your comment. We believe the food-safe designation applies to all foods, not just foods with liquids.
drinking hot coffee from a glazed frankoma brand mug from the 1967 is probably a bad idea it sounds like. is there really no point to test lead content for an item like that?
It really depends on what you want to do. If the mug is one of your favorites and makes you happy to drink out of it, it could be worth testing the lead content because there’s always a chance that it could be non-toxic. But more likely than not it contains toxins.
What is the maximum content of Lead and Cadmium content accepted by FDA and under what norm or standard ?
Hi Efren! Thanks for your comment. Here are a few documents that will answer your questions.
https://www.fda.gov/media/71764/download
https://www.fda.gov/media/71762/download
I bought a small decorative planter that I want to put nuts and candy in for Thanksgiving and Christmas but do not know if the glaze is safe for food. Does it matter if there is no heating involved? Should I still test it somehow?
Hi Gail! All of our pottery, whether it is intended for food or other household use, is nontoxic and lead-safe. All of our products are safe to use with food. You can also put any piece of Emerson Creek Pottery in the microwave, dishwasher, or oven. Hope this helps!