Note: While the XRF readings below indicate that these plates are “safe by all standards”, please do not take this as a recommendation by me to purchase these plates. I only have Lead-free and Cadmium-free dishes in my home and I don’t think there is a place for any level of toxicants in our kitchenware, cookware or tableware. These plates are, however, a better choice than many other options out there.
When tested with an XRF instrument this Dollar Tree store Royal Norfolk dinner plate had the following readings.
Test one – 30 seconds (food surface):
- Lead (Pb): 60 +/- 14 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 36 +/- 8 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 2,790 +/- 440 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 20,500 +/- 500 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 99 +/- 36 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,128 +/- 154 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 2,165 +/- 156 ppm
Metals not listed were not detected by the XRF instrument.
Test two – 30 seconds (food surface):
- Lead (Pb): 48 +/- 13 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 38 +/- 8 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 1,041 +/- 351 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 32 +/- 15 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 23,000 +/- 600 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,064 +/- 148 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 3,460 +/- 193 ppm
Test three – logo area on back:
- Lead (Pb): 40 +/- 12 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 23,600 +/- 600 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,149 +/- 162 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 679 +/- 97 ppm
Plain white flat area on back of plate:
- Lead (Pb): 60 +/- 13 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 23,600 +/- 600 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,245 +/- 158 ppm
To see more Dollar Tree store items I have tested, click here.
To see more Royal Norfolk items I have tested, click here.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
If you appreciate what I do and want to see test results for more items like this, please consider making a contribution in support of my advocacy work (which is wholly funded by my readers) at http://www.GoFundMe.com/LeadSafeMama.
Hi! I am so glad I found your page while looking for this exact information. I was looking into buying some of these dishes and was concerned. So you have this brand of dishes and they are lead free and safe? I am excited to hear this!
Hi Pam,
I don’t have these and would not have them in my home because I have stricter standards than your average Joe. But I did test one of these and they were “safe by all standards” and are a good choice for others who are not dealing with the impacts of acute lead exposure in their children.
Here are the dishes I have in my home, they are 100% lead and cadmium free: https://tamararubin.com/2016/12/ask-tamara-what-dishes-do-you-use-in-your-home-which-dishes-are-lead-free/
Tamara
I have the turquoise plates. What I’m stumped about is how the the safety of lead can range with the same brand/color. Some are lead free, some are slightly over. If so, I’m not sure what the significance of testing is? I mean there’s such a variety of different colors of royal Norfolk, their mugs, etc. The impression I’m getting is your options are either white plates, stainless, or paper plates lol – or your just playing Russian roulette. Or am I missing something here? I mean do you have any recent Christmas mugs, coffee mugs with designs? or decorated plates, or serve ware, of any kind that is good enough? My daughter would flip if I took her handcrafted unicorn cup away lol Only Ivory plates and stainless steel? Ouch.
Hi Kiki,
Thank you for commenting! I think you have summarized the concern pretty nicely! We can’t have nice things (pretty decorative things) that are also nontoxic. It’s super rare. You can take a look at some of the Lead-free options at the top of my index, there are exceptions. But if you are looking for “rules” to follow – yes, simple, undecorated, plain (new choices) are the most likely to be nontoxic. https://tamararubin.com/2018/01/a-new-idea-an-index-for-leadsafemama-com/
Tamara