For those new to the Lead Safe Mama website:
Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).
- Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a unique community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
- Since 2009, Tamara has been conducting XRF testing (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
- Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for 5 product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
- All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable.
- Items that Lead Safe Mama, LLC reports on are tested multiple times to confirm the results published (for each component tested).
- Recent notable press… There has been too much to mention already in 2024! Please check out our press page to see some of the amazing coverage of our work so far this year!
Published April 13, 2017
- Corning Blue Corn Flower Casserole, Lead-free! (A non-detect for Lead).
- Tested with an XRF instrument
- Unknown year of manufacture
Many of the vintage Corningware casserole dishes like this (specifically the ones with this blue cornflower pattern) that I have tested have been negative for Lead in the exterior painted decorative (blue) markings, but NOT all of them. It seems to depend on the year of manufacture, yet these are not marked with that information so there is no way (as far as I can tell) for the average consumer to know which are from which years. HOWEVER, all the similar Corning casserole dishes (the white glass dishes with the multi-colored decorations in various patterns) have been positive for HIGH LEVELS of Lead in the exterior decorative painted markings!
Some additional reading that may be of interest
- Click here to see more Corningware casserole dishes we have tested.
- Here’s the Corning Casserole overview article
- Here’s my Vintage Pyrex overview piece
- Here’s my Vintage Tupperware overview
- Here’s the Vintage Corelle overview
- Here’s my Vintage Fisher Price overview
- Here’s an article that discusses the testing methodologies for the test results reported on this website.
If you appreciate what we do (independent XRF testing of consumer goods and sharing the results here, on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!), the simplest way you can help support our advocacy work at NO EXTRA COST to you is to click on the Amazon affiliate links in the article. If you click on any of the links before you start your Amazon shopping as you normally would, Amazon sends me a percentage of whatever you spend — and you don’t even have to buy the items pictured! 😉
Happy shopping! & Thank you for your support!
— Tamara
Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of our links, Lead Safe Mama, LLC (a woman-owned small business based in Portland, Oregon) may receive a small percentage of what you spend, at no extra cost to you.
Will you please tell me if any of the Corning casserole pans had arsenic or other metals? I read your list that they are lead free but what about the other metals? Thank you so much.
Yes, I would love to know as well. I have a coffee carafe that is blue cornflower and I wondered if perhaps you have tested one of those in addition ;o)
Hi Tamara, you state the year of the blue cornflower dish you tested as ‘unknown’. I am just wondering if there is any clue you can give us to an estimated span, ie: was the dish you tested, one you’ve had a long time, or did you buy it recently? Was it the older kind that can go from oven/stovetop to fridge etc? Those things could give us a clue to estimated production because my clue cornflower Corningware has been in my family for years and is still in good shape, but I know they made a new type, not coated with Pyroceram. I’m just wondering if you know which type you tested because there are some available at my local thrift store in good shape as well. I would love to still have the stove top to oven option. Thank you for any help you may give.
Hi Jenni,
I don’t generally test and report on things I own (that’s rare – we own almost nothing!) I test and report on things other people own and I report what information they have available to me at the time that I report the results – so I simply don’t have access to this information.
Tamara
The best bet would be for someone to send me one to test where they are certain of the year purchased new / year of manufacture and then I could report on that. Here’s how to send me an item: https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
Tamara
Ok, thank you for your quick reply. I may try to send my most used dish so that if there is any lead present, it will be the most likely to show up on a test. I’m going to see if either of my sisters know an approximate year Mom bought these dishes, but I’m guessing it would be 70’s.
Any idea about the blue cornflower coffee carafe or if the blue cornflower pans have cadmium, arsenic, or mercury?
Pyrex color cookware from 1980s..
was the blue cornflower corningware you tested vintage or something produced in the last 5-10 years? thank you!
Sorry, I have no way of knowing. It’s most likely that the older ones are leaded and the newer ones are lower lead or lead free, but these do not have a year of manufacture marked on them (that I am aware of.)
thank you so much tamara! the newer ones produced under Pyrex brand, but also blue cornflower design have no model number and capacity stamp on them. the vintage ones have model numbers and quart/liter stamps that collectors look for. so i guess the blue cornflower corningware you tested was new-ish – post 80’s ..
The flared sides of the casserole and the small handles indicate it was an older Cornflower Corning Ware casserole. Going forward they made the sides straighter and the handles bigger.
Thank you for commenting Yvonne!
I will keep a lookout for those distinctive characteristics to see how they relate to lead content!
Tamara
Based on the dating post from the Corningware411 site, this dish is probably from the 70s with a hologram stamp that may only be visible at the perfect angle.
Tamara, am I reading your posts right that the white pyroceram surface is lead-free, but the decorative decals on the outside are the problem?
Yes – that is correct.
Tamara, we eat every day on Corning Ware vintage blue cornflower plates ? Can I send you a picture to see if you tested these please ?
Send a pic. I don’t think I have tested the plates. If they are from before the year 2,000 they are likely leaded. TamaraRubin@mac.com
This may sound stupid, but would it be possible to just remove the decoration outside the dish in order to keep using it safely?
Hi Isabel,
Possibly? I don’t know. I haven’t tried.
T
Does that mean all Cornflower Corning Ware (the ones without stamping on the bottom) are safe to use?
I would love to know if this was pyroceram or stoneware. If you ever find out, or if the original person who sent the pan reads through these comments, please let us know.
Tamra, I tested the Blue Cornflower today with the 3M kit like you test the green bowl in your video. It is the Pyroceram and probably mid 70’s or 80’s which might be of interest to you Asya. I couldn’t get the q-tip to turn anything but yellow and tried 3 times. I also tested some other stuff and only one thing turned the q-tip pink, and that was a lightly glazed Mexican bowl like you describe that would be suspect. The one pink tip was very definite so I feel like the other stuff may be ok. The only thing I wonder about is my 2 old Tupperware pieces. They didn’t turn the q-tip pink but the liquid where I rubbed, left a pinkish color on the Tupperware bowl itself. It was one of those old avocado colored ones. Do you think that means it has lead even though the q-tip didn’t turn pink? Can the 3 M test find lead in Tupperware, or is that something you have to have the machine for? I know it sure worked on the Mexican bowl!
Thanks so much for all your help!
Hi Jenni,
The swabs are not generally useful for testing any kind of dishware. Please read this post for context. Thanks for commenting.
https://tamararubin.com/2017/02/ask-tamara-q-can-i-test-my-dishes-for-lead-with-a-leadcheck-swab-a-sometimes-but-not-always-click-to-read-more/
Tamara
Thank you for sending that information. There’s so much info on your site I sometimes can’t find it all so I’m glad you sent that.
I have a couple of questions. First why is there lead in alll these products? Is needed to make the paint stick to the product ormake the color brighter? Is there something else that can be used?
And second is this lead allowed by the federal government because of the work of lobbyists or the cheaper price of using the lead, etc.
I’m the mother of three grown children and four small grandchildren and now I am going on the soap box about this. Grateful I have found you.
Personally, I feel like it’s because the lead made the product stronger, (thus the ability to go from fridge to stovetop?) I think that may be why leaded glass can be so thin, yet strong. Tamara would know more about this than I would.
I purchased the solid light plain cream colored
Corelle dishes in 2005-2006. Would those contain lead? I have a huge set and also a cabinet full of various size Corelle Cornflower blue cookware. I dislike having to get rid of all of these as I use one at almost every meal. They were purchased at all kind of places so I have no idea of age etc. Are they safe to use? Thank you!
Debbie Lanphear
Thank you so much for this info!
Hi Samantha. Thanks for commenting! You are very welcome. Let me know if you have any questions as you dig around my site a bit!
Tamara
I have 3, white, corn flower design on the exterior Corningware casseroles. All are from 1968. Marked on bottom : 9” P-9-B; 4” R-41 petite pan; 1 1/2 quart (other marks worn off this one). The two larger casseroles have glass covers. The petit pan has a plastic cover.
Can you tell me anything about the safety of these? Thank you very much for the important work you do. Evelyn
Here’s some info to determine the year of manufacture on your Corningware.
http://www.corningware411.com/2015/09/corning-ware-marks-and-mayhem-general.html
Thank you for this!
I know I have asked my Mom who is 93 to keep all the old Blue Cornflower bakeware for me as i always felt sentimental about it. and some of hers i have in my house and have used for years, especially my go-to meatloaf dish. I know all of it is before 1980. are they dangerous to use? definitely from the ‘70’s or before. my kids are now young adults. mainly for my use only. are they safe? I dont use them very often.
I’m just an outsider looking in, but your mom’s is 93. My grandmother used old corningware religiously, she made it to 88 and passed from a lung infection. We all ate from them…no development issues, everyone fairly intelligent–I scored high marks for military intelligence but was wooed by special operations instead. There’s always a certain amount of toxicity everyone can withstand. On that note I wouldn’t drag a child through a contaminated area that I would go through.
I have a collection of the blue cornflower Corning ware of various sizes. They are definitely pre-80s, maybe before that. My concern is they may contain lead because of their age, mostly concerned since we are using them daily but we eat food from the inside that is plain white. The cornflowers are are on the outside as you have shown here in the image above. If they do contain lead, and as is the case of our usage, are we safe from lead exposure? We have a big collection of the blue cornflower dishes, all are square, some deep dish some very small. No plates. Thanks.
Hi Tamara, I just got a set of vintage Corningware from my neighbor and found your website. I was astonished by the fact that the dishes we are using everyday may contain lead! I found we have a couple tea cups and saucer plates made in Japan just like the ones you have tested! Regarding this lead-free cornflower Corningware, I guess maybe it is related to the decorating method? There are three decorating methods: under-glaze, in-glaze and on-glaze. On-glaze usually uses paint containing heavy metals (lead and cadmium!) and some decorative patterns are added to the pottery like a sticker. These on-glaze products are not recommended for food. Under-glaze (mostly blue-green) and in-glaze (paints contain no lead or few lead) products are relatively safe because decorations are covered with glaze and won’t leach easily. I can see a big difference of the decoration between the one with blue cornflower and the one with Country Festival (very colorful, two blue birds on two sides and one red flower in center). The blue cornflower decoration has a more smooth surface and looks the same with the white part under light. The country festival decoration has a matte surface and the reflection under light is different from the white glazed part. So I guess the blue cornflower dishes are under-glaze or in-glaze. I have taken pictures for both and can send you via email if needed.
Hello! These are the Corning ware my family has. According to my mom, who bought these at the store with my grandma, the pictured bakeware is from 1970-1973. Thank you for your work
Thank you all so much for this wisdom to help us all stay healthy and everyone’s sharing.
https://www.corningware411.com/p/p-series-and-series-equivelants-with.html
I found this link that might be helpful also. I have a P-4-B baking Corning Ware dish I cant figure out if it is safe or not to cook with. When I bought it at a thrift store yesterday, it had a hand written sticker saying 2004. But really I don’t know if that is true. They will not let me return it unfortunately.
Thank you for all your testing of products, you are saving people! Bless your heart!
Kim
Hi,
Have you been able to test any of the new versions of this pattern? I know Macy’s has/had it.
Any update on the casseroles from 1972 in the blue cornflower like the pic at the beginning of this discussion. Thanks
Hi Tamara,
I’m trying to find out about the safety of Corningware’s black casserole dishes. My Mom gave me hers, probably from the 90s. I’m assuming black is more problematic than white in general in regards to potential heavy metal contamination. What do you think?
Actually I have tested a few and they appear to be relatively low in toxicants – although I do not have a test result profile handy. [This is assuming we are talking about the black glass options, not some black glazed ceramic alternative.]
T
It’s black glazed ceramic unfortunately.
Has anyone determined whether the vintage (1950’s-1960’s) Cornflower Blue Corningware dishes are safe or not???
They can go either way – unfortunately. And since some are leaded (and year is not marked) it is best to avoid these for food use purposes.
T
I have used these dishes daily since 1965 when they were received as wedding gifts.
Is there a way to know if ones from 1965 or probably a year before are ok to use?