Stainless Steel 430-40 Ikea Fork, c.2014: Lead Free

Below are the XRF test results for a stainless steel fork from Ikea.

Related: #AskTamara: What do you use to test for lead?

Related: #AskTamara: What is stainless steel?

Please start by understanding the following takeaways:

1. Stainless steel by itself (undecorated, solid stainless steel) IF it is truly stainless steel should not have any lead.
2. Additionally if an item is MARKED stainless steel it will likely prove to in fact be stainless steel when tested with an XRF instrument.
3. Stainless steel pieces that are joined, coated, painted or in any way decorated can have lead in the components that are NOT stainless steel.
4. I prefer stainless steel cookware that is undecorated and is made of solid one-piece construction (no joins or welds or additional materials) as that is the type of choice that is more likely to be free of other toxicants (like Lead, Mercury, Arsenic and Cadmium.)
5. There are different kinds of stainless steel.
6. To read about the makeup of what seems to be the most popular type of stainless steel (SS #304) found in most cookware please click this link to my “What is Stainless Steel” post.
7. There are other types of stainless steel (in addition to 304)
8. Most stainless steel has Nickel and Chromium and Iron (as well as other metals).
9. The Nickel in SS #304 is generally in the neighborhood of 81,000 – 89,000 ppm
10. Most stainless steel from Ikea is actually fairly low Nickel or negative for Nickel, so Ikea stainless items tend to be a good option if you think you might have a Nickel allergy.
11. Some Ikea pieces I have tested are Stainless Steel #430/40 (as with the fork pictured here.)
12. I have never had any concerns for Nickel or for Stainless Steel with my family and I feel it is a good safer choice for cookware when used in combination with clear glass, natural wood and cast iron pieces.

All that said, below is the full XRF reading set for the Ikea Fork pictured in this post:
(XRF reading states : “Metal-430/40” – which is the type of stainless steel used to make this fork). Please note the Nickel level listed below (as compared with the Nickel level in a 304 Stainless fork, LINK HERE.)

• Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Barium (Ba): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Antimony (Sb): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Selenium (Se): Negative / Non-Detect (ND)
• Chromium (Cr): 161,600 +/- 1,500 ppm
• Nickel (Ni): 2,051 +/- 398 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 830,300 +/- 2,400 ppm
• Magnesium (Mn): 4,311 +/- 1,083 ppm

That’s it! I love Ikea cookware and kitchen products and will always (until further notice) recommend them as safer choices for your family. We use several Ikea products in our home.

As always, thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama