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Tamara’s Toxic Dishes Guide: “Do my dishes have Lead?” Read this post to see if YOUR china has Lead!

#LeadedChina· #LeadedDishes· Homer Laughlin· Leaded China· Vintage China· Vintage Dishes· Vintage Pottery· XRF Testing· XRFTesting

 

Tamara's Toxic Holiday Dishes Guide: Do my dishes have Lead?

Published: November 22, 2018
Updated: May 30, 2021

Welcome to the Lead Safe Mama website! I am sure this post will engage quite a few new readers, so I thought I would start it with an introduction…

Here’s a brief bio about me (Tamara Rubin, aka: Lead Safe Mama).

I am a mother of Lead-poisoned children, and a Federal-award-winning childhood Lead-poisoning prevention activist and advocate. As part of this advocacy work – with the collaborative help of my friends and readers – we do independent (not funded by anyone other than me and my readers) consumer goods testing for metallic toxicants including Lead, Mercury, Arsenic and Cadmium. You may have learned of my work in 2017 – when (with the help of my readers) I discovered and reported the findings that there was an unsafe level of Lead in many brands and models of fidget spinners. Here’s a link to the CBS This Morning segment on that if you have not seen it yet.

Over the years since my children were Lead-poisoned [in August 2021, it will be 16 years since my kids were poisoned], I have tested more dishes (using both XRF technology and chemical reagent swabs) than I can count — and have probably tested more dishes and consumer goods for Lead than anyone else on the planet!

Some additional links that may be of interest

  • Click HERE to learn more about how I test for Lead.
  • Click HERE to see options for Lead-free dishes.
  • Click HERE to watch a video showing you how to efficiently search the nearly 3,000 posts and pages with information here on the Lead Safe Mama blog.
  • Click HERE to better understand the concern for Lead in dishware (and why we have allowed manufacturers to use Leaded glazes for more than a century!)
  • As a consumer, you really cannot test your dishes for Lead yourself, which is why I do this – and make this information freely available on my blog. Click HERE to learn more about home test kits and the issues with testing dishes.

In general, how much Lead is “too much” Lead?

Modern items manufactured for use by children today are considered unsafe if the glaze, paint or surface coating tests positive for 90 ppm Lead, or more. Dishware (both modern and vintage) is not considered to be “an item intended for use by children” and as such, is not regulated for total (XRF-detectable) Lead content. As a result, many of the dishes on the lists below test positive for levels much higher than 90 ppm Lead (levels like 900 ppm, 9,000 ppm – and even 90,000 ppm and higher!) As a consumer, you have a right to know this information, given Lead is one of the most potent neurotoxins known to man. I would bet (in most cases) that if you knew your dishware might be covered in Leaded glaze, you would never have chosen that brand (or pattern) in the first place. If you are concerned about the potential symptomatic impacts of Lead exposure (in both children and adults), please check out this post – LINK.

Can Lead in dishes actually poison the user?

The short answer to this question is “YES”. Both in my personal experience working with families, and in case studies reported by scientists and public health officials, Lead in dishware has been shown to be a real concern as a potential source for Lead exposure. The primary concern is regular daily use of high Lead dishware (including ceramic mugs and teacups) with acidic or hot foods and beverages (lemon juice, tomato sauce, vinegar, coffee, tea, etc.) You can read more about the concern on this post and this post.

Why I test and report on Lead (and other toxicants) found in dishware…

I have sort of a strange fascination and interest in the discovery of very high levels of Lead in antique and vintage dishware. It’s fascinating to me, because while lead in china per se is not generally a “big” issue, it is a concern that in most cases can make the overarching issue of environmental Lead-exposure and poisoning (and the fact that there are potential sources of Lead in your home) “hit home” for the vast majority of folks out there.

No matter who you are — rich, poor, or somewhere in-between; black, white, or any other color of the rainbow; born/raised-in-America, Europe, Australia, Asia, India, Africa, or almost anywhere on Earth (with VERY few exceptions) — you have almost definitely eaten off of vintage china at some point in your life: family heirloom?… wedding set?…your friend’s china?…your mother’s china…your grandmother’s china?…military service china?… cherished antiques/collectibles?…travel, restaurant or hotel?… Consequently, this issue should be of concern to everyone.

It is for this reason that I consider my work finding Lead (and other toxicants) in vintage china a useful tool – one that has the potential to engage people everywhere in learning more about potential toxicants in their homes and communities. Usually, if a person finds out their china (or everyday dishware) contains Lead, they start thinking about other potential sources of Lead in their life — especially sources that may be impacting their children and grandchildren.

Scroll down for a list of china I have tested

  • Below is a list of links to each of the categories of branded china on my site which I have tested and for which I created posts.
  • When you click on the link it will bring you to a LIST of blog posts that are each representative samples of china by that brand, style, maker or store – OR to a specific post for that specific pattern. [Sometimes there will be other products by a brand in the list as well.]
  • By looking through the different examples, you may see your exact china – or perhaps something similar, which may help give you an idea of whether or not yours might have high levels of Lead in the glaze – and how much Lead that may be (and if you read my posts – instead of just looking at the images – in many cases you can actually learn whether or not I think your particular type of china might be a problem or not… some are a problem now; some, not so much.)

I will be updating this as I have new test results to share, so if you have not yet seen your dishes listed, please check back periodically  – or send me an e-mail (tamararubin @ Mac dot com) or post a comment below with a link to an image of your particular dishes, and I can let you know if I have tested them (or something similar.) If you are interested in having me test your exact set of china, please follow the instructions on this blog post – LINK.

Please let me know if you have any questions. While I do my best to answer all questions personally, with over 1,000,000 unique visitors a year here at LeadSafeMama.com it may take me a while to get to your question. Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading and sharing posts from the LeadSafeMama blog. When readers share posts from the Lead Safe Mama blog it helps to cover the costs of the work we do here.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children 

To make a contribution in support of this independent consumer goods testing, Click HERE.

This list includes examples of both vintage & new dishes. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the page see list of china organized by Country of Origin (for example “Made in Japan”.)

“A” China & Products

  1. Adams – all patterns
  2. Adams Calyx Ware, Real English Ironstone – England
  3. Adderley
  4. Anchor
  5. Andrea Fine Bone China
  6. Athol

“B” China & Products

  1. Bauer Potteries (Los Angeles)
  2. Baum Potteries
  3. Bernard Limoges – Artois (France)
  4. Blenheim Palace
  5. Blue Willow
  6. Buckingham Palace China
  7. Bunnykins
  8. Butterfly Meadow
  9. Butterfly Pattern – all brands

“C” China & Products

  1. Cameo Blue
  2. Concerto
  3. Corelle
  4. Corelle – Bella Faenza
  5. Corelle – Butterfly Gold
  6. Corelle – Key West (2019)
  7. Corelle – Portofino
  8. Corelle – Prairie Garden Gray (2019)
  9. Corelle – Spice of Life
  10. Corelle – Spring Blossom Green (“Crazy Daisy”)
  11. Cordon Bleu
  12. Crazy Daisy
  13. Crown Royal
  14. Crown Trent
  15. Crate & Barrel

“D-E” China & Products

  1. Dollar Store
  2. Dorset
  3. Duchess Bone China – England
  4. Dunoon Find Bone China
  5. English Fine Bone China – all (generic)

“F” China & Products

  1. Fiesta / Fiestaware – all colors / all patterns/ all years
  2. Fine China – all (generic)
  3. Finlandia
  4. Floral Patterns – General
  5. Franciscan Apple
  6. Franciscan Desert Rose
  7. Franciscan Ivy
  8. Franciscan Madeira
  9. Franciscan Masterpiece Minaret
  10. Franciscan Potteries

“G-H-I” China & Products

  1. Golden Cove
  2. Grace Fine China
  3. Grace Fine China – Concerto (Japan)
  4. Grace’s Teaware
  5. Grimwades
  6. Heinrich & Co
  7. Historic Colonial Scenes
  8. Homer Laughlin
  9. Ironstone – all brands / all patterns

“J-K” China & Products

  1. Johnson Brothers – all patterns 
  2. Johnson Brothers – Fish, Design No. 3 (England)
  3. Johnson Brothers – Franciscan Desert Rose (England – 1995)
  4. Johnson Brothers – Greydawn (England)
  5. Johnson Brothers – Hearts & Flowers Pattern
  6. Johnson Brothers Ironstone – Mill Stream Pattern (England)
  7. Johnson Brothers – London Pattern English Fine China (Staffordshire, England)
  8. Johnson Brothers – Rose Chintz Pattern (England)
  9. Johnson Brothers – Sheraton Pattern (England)
  10. Johnson Brothers Wedgwood Group  – Willow Earthenware (England)
  11. Johnson Brothers – Willow Pattern (England)
  12. Johann Haviland (Bavaria, Germany)

“L” China & Products (Lenox)

  1. Lenox – all patterns
  2. Lenox – Butterfly Meadow
  3. Lenox – Brookdale
  4. Lenox – Casual Images Rose Garden (Japan)
  5. Lenox – Continental Dining – Gold
  6. Lenox – Jewel (1957-1969)
  7. Lenox – Opal Innocence (2010)
  8. Lenox – Opal innocence (2013)
  9. Lenox – Temper-Ware Fall Bounty (USA)
  10. Lenox – Tin Can Alley Seven

“L” China & Products (not Lenox)

  1. Libbey
  2. Libbey – Christmas Themed
  3. Liberty Blue – all patterns
  4. Liberty Blue – Historic Colonial Scenes, Old North Church (England)
  5. Linens & Things

“M” China & Products (Mikasa)

  1. Mikasa – all patterns and styles
  2. Mikasa Continental Silk Flowers
  3. Mikasa English Countryside (1993)
  4. Mikasa French Countryside
  5. Mikasa Maxima Sorrento  (Japan)
  6. Mikasa Platinum Matrix
  7. Mikasa Potters Art Country Cabin
  8. Mikasa Ultima +
  9. Mikasa Verna
  10. Mikasa White Silk

“M” China & Products (not Mikasa)

  1. Magenta
  2. Maruto Japan
  3. Memory Lane
  4. Mill Stream

“N” China & Products

  1. Noritake – all patterns
  2. Noritake – Colorwave Fine Porcelain Bob Swirl Pattern (Indonesia)
  3. Noritake Dining Kitchen Gala Cuisine – Dutch Tile Pattern (Japan)
  4. Noritake – Golden Cove Pattern Fine China (Japan)
  5. Noritake – Keltcraft pattern (Ireland)
  6. Noritake Progression China – Blue Haven Pattern (Japan)
  7. Noritake – Rosedawn (Japan)
  8. Noritake Stoneware (Japan)
  9. Noritake Stoneware, Madera Ivory Pattern (Indonesia)

“O” China & Products

  1. Oneida
  2. Opal Innocence
  3. Optima China

“P-Q” China & Products

  1. Pioneer Woman
  2. Pfaltzgraff
  3. Portmeirion
  4. Pottery Barn – all designs
  5. Pottery Barn – Emma
  6. Pyrex
  7. Queen Anne China

“R” China & Products [Royal]

  1. Royal Albert
  2. Royal Birdsong
  3. Royal China
  4. Royal Crown
  5. Royal Doulton
  6. Royal Grafton
  7. Royal Heritage
  8. Royal M
  9. Royal Norfolk
  10. Royal Staffordshire
  11. Royal Sutherland
  12. Royal Winton
  13. Royal Worcester

“R” China & Products [NOT “Royal”]

  1. Rae Dunn
  2. Red Willow
  3. Rose Pattern – General
  4. Rosina China

“S” China & Products – Spode

  1. Spode – all designs / patterns
  2. Spode “Consul Cobalt” Pattern
  3. Spode “Italian” Pattern Bowl
  4. Spode “Italian” Pattern Dish (older)
  5. Spode “Italian” Pattern – Newer Dish
  6. Spode “Copeland Wicker Lane”
  7. Spode “Christmas Tree” pattern
  8. Spode “Fairy Dell” pattern
  9. Spode “Delamere Blue” pattern
  10. Spode yellow “Albany” pattern
  11. Spode “Blue Chintz” pattern
  12. Spode Gainsborough England China

“S” China & Products – NOT Spode

  1. Sango
  2. Sanyo – Blue Elbe
  3. Sasaki Colorstone – Matte White (Japan)
  4. Spring Blossom Green
  5. Staffordshire China
  6. Staffordshire Ironstone
  7. Sterling China
  8. Sterling China – Nestle’s
  9. Sur La Table
  10. Sweese – general category
  11. Syracuse

“T” China & Products

  1. Target Home
  2. Thomas (Germany)
  3. Tiffany
  4. Tupperware

“U-V-W-X-Y-Z” China & Products

  1. Unbranded (no visible brand or back mark)
  2. Vale Bone China – Longton, England
  3. Vietri
  4. Waechtersbach
  5. Waterford
  6. Wedgwood
  7. Williams Sonoma
  8. Willow Ware
  9. World Market
  10. You Are Special Today (Red Plate)

Country (or City or State) of Origin Links

Last updated: Friday, May 29, 2021 – 13:17 p.m.

Tamara's Toxic Holiday Dishes Guide: Do my dishes have Lead? Tamara's Toxic Holiday Dishes Guide: Do my dishes have Lead? Tamara's Toxic Holiday Dishes Guide: Do my dishes have Lead?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Alisa says

    Definitely unsettling how does one go through their entire house I don’t think I’ll have anything left..

    Reply

  3. Shane Duvall says

    Hi Tamara! You do in fact have our ‘family dishware’ listed here as containing Lead..
    It is precisely the model you show, above. The MEMORY LANE one…
    I’m just curious as to ‘how much lead’ in fact they contain, or measured
    in ppm?
    Sincere thanks! Shane

    Reply

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