Polish Pottery: 50 ppm lead.
Hello! These are some of the results of recent XRF testing. The amount of lead that is considered unsafe in an item intended for use by children is 90 parts per million and higher. Dishware is not considered “for use by children” and is therefore not regulated in the same way. This particular item is in the #LeadSafe range, meaning it tested positive for lead BELOW the 90 ppm threshold. Click the #XRFTesting link below to learn more about this type of testing.
If I was visiting your home and you served me food on these plates I would have no issues at all, although I do prefer to have lead-free dishes in my home.
Click here for more #SaferChoices in dishes for your family!
These levels are considered safe by all standards.
#XRFTesting
Holly says
Is this amount considered high? Thank you for all you do!
Tamara says
Dishes are not regulated. Anything 90 ppm and higher is considered unsafe in an item intended for children. If you look at a lot of the dishes here on my page, many are 10,000 ppm, 20,000 ppm or higher. So this amount is actually very low and within safe range, but not lead-free.
Leslie Estes says
Hi Tamara,
I love your website!
I recently purchased a large polish pottery sauerkraut/fermenting crock but now I’m leary of using it. How do you think 50 ppm compares to say using a large Ball mason jar instead? I think I saw somewhere that you’ve never found lead in the Ball jars. (Plus I just read that in addition to lead and/or cadmium, there is barium in all glazed pieces.)
Darn! Seems nothing is safe these days.
Maybe I could send in just the lid to have it tested (the base is way too heavy!). Where can I find info on your testing program(s)?
Thanks for all your work!
Tamra says
I purchased a ton of Polish pottery in Poland when we were stationed there around 1998. All of my everyday dishes are the Polish pottery I bought in Poland at that time (Boleslawiec). Is there a difference between the Polish pottery bought in the United States vs what I bought overseas? I have 5 kids ages 2-19… my 2 year old’s pediatrician just told me I have to have her blood checked for lead because we eat off of these dishes (no other dr told me that for my 4 older kids). This has worried me enough to want to get rid of what I have and buy all lead free everyday dishes! Is there a reliable way to test my dishes? And does the fact that a few of them are chipped make it more risky? Thank you!
Marion says
Hi Tamara, thank you so much for publishing this test!
I am very glad and relieved to see that Polish pottery has safe levels of lead.
I have a tea cup in exactly the same design and several other dishes.
Theresa Breno says
Is a 6 with and upside down Y Boleslawieo pitcher lead free and safe to use