“Made in Italy” saucer – purchased new at Crate & Barrel in 2006: 46,700 ppm Lead. [90 ppm is unsafe for kids.]
Most decorative Crate and Barrel-purchased dishware that I have tested over the years has been positive for high levels of Lead.
Here is the full XRF reading for the food surface of the plate pictured.
Plain white center of food surface of saucer:
- Lead (Pb): 29,100 +/- 700 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 353 +/- 70 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 4,232 +/- 172 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,256 +/- 189 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 899 +/- 78 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 1,824 +/- 134 ppm
Blue edge of food surface of saucer:
- Lead (Pb): 46,700 +/- 1,400 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 589 +/- 111 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 5,640 +/- 257 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,068 +/- 225 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 724 +/- 78 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 1,376 +/- 130 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 9,662 +/- 415 ppm
The back mark on this piece says “Made in Italy.” The owner told me she received these as a gift through her wedding registry in 2006 at Crate and Barrel.
XRF readings are done in “Consumer Goods Mode” for a minimum of 60 seconds unless otherwise noted. Results are science-based and replicable. Metals not listed above were not detected by the XRF instrument.
The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe (and illegal) in a newly-manufactured item intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead (or higher) in the paint, finish or glaze.
Dishes (new and vintage) are not considered to be “items intended for use by children” and are not regulated in the same way children’s items are (with allowable limits on XRF-detectable levels of Lead.) It is my assertion that they should be. If a toy is considered unsafe at 90 ppm Lead, then a dish (which will usually be used by a child more often than a toy!) most definitely should be considered unsafe at those same levels.
In general, Crate & Barrel (and Pottery Barn for that matter!) dishes test poorly (i.e. often contain Lead, and/or other neurotoxic metals) and so I never recommend them (especially in the absence of independent testing done on each and every single pattern). Even though some of their brand-new plain white patterns have tested Lead-free, until they have a better track record, I cannot currently recommend anything from those companies and would personally never shop at those stores.
To see more Crate & Barrel pieces I have tested, click here.
To see more Pottery Barn pieces I have tested, click here.
To see the Lead-free dishes I use in my home, click here.
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
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