Introduction (for those new to this website):
Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. Tamara uses XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for metallic toxicants, including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Arsenic.
When tested with an XRF instrument, this Greenbrier International ceramic Royal Norfolk dinner plate [with a sunflower pattern on the food surface – purchased at a Dollar Tree store in 2020] had the following readings:
On the food surface of the dish:
70-second test – red area of flower
- Lead (Pb): non-detect
- Cadmium (Cd): 738 +/- 21 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 52 +/- 25 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 1,483 +/- 173 ppm
- Selenium (Se): 153 +/- 18 ppm
- Silver (Ag): 11 +/- 3 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 112 +/- 13 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 31 +/- 9 ppm
- Palladium (Pd): 9 +/- 3 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 7,662 +/- 187 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 57 +/- 26 ppm
- Cobalt (Co-: 1,526 +/- 110 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,828 +/- 155 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 1,101 +/- 213 ppm
- Indium (In): 18 +/- 6 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 290 +/ – 112 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 3,260 +/- 303 ppm
On the food surface of the dish:
60-second test – yellow area of flower
- Lead (Pb): 40 +/- 11 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 415 +/- 15 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 68 +/- 27 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 123 +/- 15 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 30 +/- 10 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 8,608 +/- 221 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,399 +/- 150 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 204 +/ – 94 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 3,096 +/- 278 ppm
On the food surface of the dish:
60-second test – green area of leaves
- Cadmium (Cd): 474 +/- 17 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 1,471 +/- 184 ppm
- Silver (Ag): 9 +/- 4 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 123 +/- 15 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 27 +/- 10 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 7,209 +/- 198 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 472 +/- 81 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,323 +/- 151 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 288 +/ – 122 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 3,227 +/- 333 ppm
How much Cadmium is “too much” Cadmium?
Even though Cadmium is known to cause cancer is not illegal to apply Cadmium-based pigments on the food surface of functional dishware in the United States. The State of Washington has a limit of 40 ppm above which it considers Cadmium to be unsafe in consumer goods intended for use by children. The Country of Denmark has a limit of 75 ppm. Washington State is also the only State that I am aware of that considers dishware to be an item intended for use by children. As a result these may be considered illegal in Washington State but the State may not have an issue with it if the Cadmium is non-leaching at the time of manufacture. XRF test results do not indicate whether or not a toxicant is leaching.
Some additional reading:
- To read more about the concern for Lead in pottery and dishware, click here.
- To see more items from the Dollar Store that I have tested, click here.
- To read more about the type of testing I do, click here.
- To read more about the concern for Cadmium in consumer goods, 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
Thank you for testing these products. Are they safe or not, bottom line. Specifically the orange and the sunflower plates from the dollar tree.
Hi Gretchen –
I share the info so you can make an informed decision, so you can use the information as a basis for further research (hopefully). Cadmium causes cancer. I don’t think it should be in our dishes. Has anyone proven it to be safe long-term in dishes? I don’t know that they have. I go by #FirstDoNoHarm #KnowBetterDoBetter.
This dish might be considered illegal if sold in Denmark or Washington State (the two places with the strictest cadmium regulatory standards in the world.) Here’s the post about Cadmium:
https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/cadmium-concerns/
Here’s the post discussing the concern for toxicants in dishware:
https://tamararubin.com/topics/does-vintage-and-new-functional-pottery-and-dishware-have-unsafe-levels-of-lead/
I would not have these in my home. I would not want my child to eat off of them. I found cadmium in my dishes and got rid of them.
Thanks for commenting.
Should people be concerned about phthalates?
What about the blue white flowered royal dansk plate bowl and glassware sold at dollar tree?
I was wondering the same thing. Your description sounds like the ones I have. I’m ready to get rid of mine and be better safe than sorry. I am curious if they’ve been tested though.