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 sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).
- Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
- Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (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).
- Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February 2023 (March 2023 print edition) and The Guardian in November 2023.
Originally published July 8, 2018
Updated December 10, 2019
How toxic is this mug?
When tested with an XRF instrument, this 2014 “zak! designs” Anna and Elsa Mug (characters from Disney’s animated film, Frozen) tested positive for Lead (Pb) at 8,834 ppm. This was the Lead-level on the exterior decorative elements of the mug. Please note this is not a Disney-branded product, but is a Disney-licensed product, made by Zak! (I don’t know what store this was purchased at, but the owner lives in Souther California).
How much Lead is “too much” Lead?
The amount of Lead considered toxic (and illegal) in a modern item made and intended to be used by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze, or coating, or 100 ppm or higher in the substrate. Coming in at 8,834 ppm Lead, this mug SHOULD be considered illegal (at it is obviously something children would use), but it is not technically illegal. The manufacturer’s (and regulatory agencies’) likely excuse for why this is not illegal is that it is a “coffee mug” and therefore “not intended for use by children.” (!)
Continue reading below the image!
HOWEVER, given this mug has an “8+” note on the bottom (confirming it is intended to be used by children 8 and older), it actually may be a violation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act regulations for items intended for children, given the Lead level (and the fact that children are considered children by the CPSC law into their teen years, depending on the product category).
Are new Disney-branded mugs safe?
Modern (recently-made) Disney-themed mugs that are actually produced directly by Disney (for sale in the Disney parks) rather than simply licensed for manufacture by some other company, are generally a safe bet, and often either have Lead-free glaze, or fall within in the Lead-safe range when tested with an XRF instrument (under 90 ppm Lead). Click here to see an article with an example of that. Any vintage Disney item or Disney-themed item recently made but manufactured by another vendor is generally NOT a safe-bet!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions!
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Thank you for reading and for sharing these results.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama 
Have you tested other Zak products? My kids have used so much of it for years! I tossed out our older stuff, but have some items just purchased this year.