Hand Painted Wooden Maracas, Made In Mexico: 1,219 ppm Lead (Context: 90 ppm is illegal in new children’s items).

I tested this set of wooden (made in Mexico) maracas with an XRF instrument, and the painted area on these had the following reading:

• Lead (Pb): 1,219 ppm

For context, the amount of Lead that is considered unsafe in a newly manufactured item intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze, or other coating – or anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate.

Unbranded / hand painted maracas from Mexico (even those made in recent years) almost always test positive for unsafe levels of Lead in the painted components. Please do not give them to children to play with unless you know for certain they are Lead-free. This is especially concerning with maracas as they are often given to babies to play with and babies will (in the course of normal behavior) usually put them in their mouths / explore them with their mouths.

• To see more examples of items from Mexico that I have tested, click here.

For a lead-free option (if you want to give your kiddos some maracas to play with) please check out this link.*

Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.

If you are interested in participating in the testing I do (and would like to send in some of your things for testing and reporting on this blog) please read THIS POST.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama