Is My China Toxic?

A Reader Asks The Green Guide:

I thought lead and cadmium could no longer be used in the glazes for dinnerware, but I found out I was wrong! The manufacturers I've contacted could give me no info, other than one that said they met "California standards," which tells me they use it at a so-called "safe" level. Other distributors of dinnerware will not even respond to my question. Do imported dishes have to meet the same safety requirements as those made in USA? I want NO lead or cadmium in my dishes. How can consumers find out about this without having to buy a testing kit?

The Green Guide Responds:

Lead and cadmium are still used in some ceramic dishes, in particular in colorful decorations and glazes (for cadmium, red and orange are the problem colors). And carcinogenic colorants used in glazes include antimony, arsenic, barium, chromium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, uranium, vanadium. While levels are regulated by the FDA and, more strictly, by California, you can't be assured your tableware is lead- and cadmium-free even if it meets California's Proposition 65 standards. However, most tableware doesn't pose a serious health risk.

You should be wary of tableware that might have evaded regulation: old dishes, handmade dishes, dishes purchased abroad. In those cases, you can buy testing kits from a source like leadcheck.com (800-262-5323; $18.45 for an eight-swab lead test; $39.95 for eight cadmium swabs). Home testing cannot prove your dishes heavy-metal-free—it can only assure you that levels aren't dangerously high.

Lead- and cadmium-free glazes are out there, and are likely advertised as such. While there's no certification stricter than California's, glaze manufacturers must comply with federal disclosure laws for labeling. For example, Amaco, a major glaze producer, provides the following information to retailers (glazes are coded by numbers 1-5):

"(1) Dinnerware Safe. Contains no lead or cadmium bearing ingredients.

(2) Dinnerware Safe. Contains some lead and/or cadmium compounds but passes test for lead and cadmium release.

(3) Contains some lead and/or cadmium compounds and does not pass test for lead and cadmium release. Not recommended for surfaces which come in contact with food or drink.

(4) Contains no lead or cadmium bearing ingredients. We do not recommend these glazes on surfaces which come in contact with food or drink due to the soft or crackle nature of the glaze, even though they pass tests for lead and cadmium release.

(5) Contains no lead or cadmium bearing ingredients but does not pass test for lead and cadmium release due to the soft crackle nature of the glaze. Not recommended for surfaces which come in contact with food or drink."

For an extensive, slightly old list of California-certified ceramics, go to Environmental Defense. It includes such names as Fiestaware, Wedgwood, Corning, and hundreds of others. The FDA maintains a list of Chinese factories that meet its less stringent standards; you can also look on the package for a blue CCIB logo (with the CIB inside a big C; it stands for China Commodity Inspection Bureaus). Other Chinese china may be safe, but you should buy certified product to encourage more factories to certify. Ceramics that the FDA has not approved for food use are required to be labeled prominently as such. Ceramics that don't meet California standards can still be sold in the state but are required to be labeled with a yellow "yield" triangle (except in stores with fewer than 10 employees, which are exempt from labeling requirements).

If you want to take further precautions, here are some tips:

• White dishes are generally safe.

• Avoid tableware that's colorfully glazed on the surfaces that touch food—an external glaze on, say, a pitcher shouldn't be a problem (though be careful when washing that the glaze doesn't crack, and don't use a dishwasher).

• Avoid decorations over glazes, as they're more likely to rub off than those underneath.

• Heavy metals are more likely to leach when ceramics are heated, and when acidic food or drink is what's being stored.

• The longer something is stored in ceramic, the more leaching can take place.

• Many Latin American terra cotta pots, with a transparent glaze, are hazardous—make sure they're labeled lead-free, or sin plomo.

• Corroded glaze, which gets dusty-looking after being washed, is especially dangerous.

• Glass and stoneware, unless decorated, are generally lead-free.