This Royal Norfolk “Made In China” snowman mug tested positive for lead and cadmium at the following levels (Note, year of manufacture is unknown, however I don’t believe this is very old).
Here’s a link to this exact piece on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Qnone7
- To see more Royal Norfolk pieces I have tested, Click HERE.
- To see more Christmas decorative pieces I have tested, Click HERE.
- To see more Christmas mugs I have tested, Click HERE.
Green Glaze:
Lead (Pb): 198 +/- 27 ppm
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Red Glaze:
Lead (Pb): 939 +/- 68 ppm
Cadmium (Cd): 539 +/- 39 ppm*
~
White Glaze:
Lead (Pb): 97 +/- 20 ppm
Since I originally posted this I have learned that this brand and type of Christmas Mug is sold at the Dollar Tree and similar stores. (You can also buy it on Amazon! LINK).
Tested with an XRF instrument. This piece was negative for arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg.)
*Red glaze is often positive for high levels of cadmium (Cd). You might remember your paint colors from grade school (depending on how old you are!)… “cadmium yellow”, “cadmium red” and “cadmium orange” were common colors back in the day! [Just as was/is “lead white”.]
To learn more about Cadmium toxicity, Click HERE.
By modern standards, the amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item intended to be used by children is 90 ppm lead (or higher) in the glaze or coating and 100 ppm lead (or higher) in the substrate (in the case of mugs, the ceramic.)
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As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
I have this exact mug from the Dollar Store, and I’ve been using it as a decorative piece the last couple of holiday seasons. I was just packing away Christmas stuff and something made me google it. I found this blog entry, and I’m so glad you tested it. Thanks for this information!! I’m shocked, but I’ve been suspicious of the quality of cheap products manufactured in China. I’m going to start to pay more attention. Keep up your research! It’s valuable!!!
I would like to know if the Royal Norfolk Christmas mugs bought in the Dollar Tree Store in Staten Island have been tested for lead. I will describe them.
There are about 5 or 6 different decorations that I saw. Each mug is 14 oz. Each mug individually comes in an open type small box so you can see the pattern. Each box has on top a “To: and From: gift giving type of label as part of the top of box. Styles are a 1)giant Santa red, black and white belt buckle. 2)Santa and. Christmas Trees with snow flakes,3) cartoon type snow men with the words JOY and HO HO HO.4) a floral pattern of red white flowers. The box also says. Holiday Mug – ( and directly under that) TASSE DES FETES. Can you tell me if any or all of these mugs have been tested for lead? Thank you, Frank.