Lead Safe Mama


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Today’s Theme #Mikasa: Click to check out links to every article we have written about MIKASA brand products

#TodaysTheme· Mikasa· Mikasa Bone China· Mikasa China· Mikasa Continental· Mikasa Continental Silk Flowers· Mikasa Narumi· Mikasa Silk Flowers· Mikasa Sorrento· Mikasa Ultima· Mikasa White Silk· Summary Article by Theme 2020· Today’s Theme

For those new to this website:

Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic). Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February 2023 (March 2023 print edition).

Published: Saturday — December 19, 2020

Out of THIRTEEN Mikasa examples currently on the Lead Safe Mama website, only two are in the Lead-safe range; the rest are mostly very high Lead. As a rule, the older they are, the higher the Lead levels — with the highest Lead levels in Mikasa pieces I have tested so far being examples from 1990 to 2000. Since the pieces are not dated, I am not sure how old some of the examples are (and if you have information to help date any of the patterns, please let me know).

One thing I have found very interesting about Mikasa is that many of their designs are plain white, or otherwise what folks might consider “simple,” but most of these simple designs do, in fact, (when tested with an XRF instrument) test positive for very high levels of Lead in the glaze.

The high levels of Lead found in these simple and plain white china patterns is particularly interesting because of the pervasive myth that “white china [or plain undecorated china] is Lead-free.” So please be wary of these “simple” pieces, especially if they were manufactured before 2010. As a guideline I would say that pre-2010 may have unsafe Levels of Lead and post-2016 should be in the Lead-safe or Lead-free range. (I haven’t tested enough examples yet that I can definitely confirm were manufactured in the 2010-2016 window to have a more concrete date indicating a specific intentional shift from Leaded to Lead-free for Mikasa brand dishes.)

My biggest concern for these Mikasa pieces is the designs produced in the 25 year period from 1980 through 2005 — because people do not at this point in time think of these as “old” yet, and so are more likely to imagine they must be safe, just because they they are “newer.” I am actually especially wary of these dishes, because I worked with a family whose child was poisoned (in a newer-construction house, with no detected Lead hazards in his environment) — and Mikasa dishes from c. 1999/2000 (which were tested and found to have very high Lead content), were eventually determined to be one of the likely sources of his Lead exposure, and poisoning. Read more about that, here.

In an effort to help date pieces from this brand, I found this useful bit of information on Mikasa’s website:

“George Aratani founded Mikasa as ‘American Commercial Inc.’ in the state of California in 1948. Initially a dinnerware importer, Mikasa grew into a dinnerware wholesaler over the next twenty years, supplying dinnerware to Bloomingdales, Macy’s, May Department Stores Company and other fine retailers. In 1957, the brand name Mikasa was introduced to the American public.

During the 1970s, Mikasa diversified its product lines, augmenting its already successful dinnerware lines with the introduction of crystal stemware, stainless flatware, crystal gifts and picture frames, ceramic vases, table linens and decorative accessories. Lifetime Brands’ corporate headquarters are located in Garden City, New York, and its distribution centers are located in Robbinsville, New Jersey and Rialto, California.”

This article has links below to quickly and easily view all of the other Mikasa articles on the Lead Safe Mama website.

  • Here’s an important overview with a video to help people understand how to navigate the (more than 2,600) articles with information (including consumer goods test results) here on the Lead Safe Mama site! See the article here. 
  • Here’s the category overview link for MIKASA. When you click this, it will come up with a set of at least 14 articles (at the time of publishing this) that you can scroll through to see all other related pieces.

Mikasa dishes

  1. Mikasa White Silk Bone China saucer, Made in Japan
  2. Mikasa Continental Silk Flowers saucer, Made in Japan
  3. Mikasa Maxima Sorrento Cup and Saucer, Made in Japan
  4. Mikasa Ultima+ HK 301 Cameo Platinum dish, Made in Indonesia
  5. Mikasa Platinum Matrix AN060 bone china dish, Made in Indonesia
  6. Mikasa “Potters Art” Ben Seibel Country Cabin dish, Made in Japan
  7. 1993 Mikasa English Countryside White coffee mug, Made in Japan
  8. 1993 Mikasa English Countryside White dinner plate, Made in Malaysia
  9. Mikasa Winthrop pattern Fine China dinner plate, Made in Japan
  10. Mikasa French Countryside F9000 saucer
  11. Mikasa Optima Super Strong Fine China by Christopher Stuart pattern dinner plate in Cafe White (c. 1996-1999), Made in Indonesia
  12. Mikasa Optima Super Strong Fine China by Christopher Stuart pattern bowl in Cafe White (c. 1996), Made in Indonesia
  13. Mikasa Optima Super Strong Fine China by Christopher Stuart pattern small dish in Cafe White (c. 1996), Made in Indonesia

Additional important reading if you determine your dishes may have unsafe levels of Lead:

Thanks for being here! Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them personally as soon as I have a moment (but please be patient … I have had my hands full with kiddos, with no childcare, since the start of the pandemic)!

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth Janes says

    Please tell me which dishes to eat off of. i appreciate all your hard work and only recently found your website when I was searching for some vintage tupperware. This whole lead think is rocking my world. I am a two time cancer survivor still retying to get my energy back from my last surgery in August.

    I don’t want to think I just want to order what is safe. I have been eating off of Mikasa for the last 25 years. ugh!

    Thank you

    Beth

    Reply

  2. Christine Pynaker says

    Hi Tamara!
    I bought a set of Mikasa plates, bowls, saucers in the 80’s.
    They are Duro Stone By Mikasa Orange peel made in Japan.

    I didn’t see it in your collection of Mikasa.
    Was hoping you could tell me if they contained lead and if I then need to
    get rid of them?

    Thank you so much and I appreciate all your knowledge!
    Christine

    Reply

  3. Denise says

    Hi Tamara,

    We have the Mikasa Caviar dinner/salad plates and bowls. They are white with a grey/black design. These were a wedding gift from 1995. Should I get rid of these?
    We also use Revol white plates, and a Staub teapot. My research indicated these were safe; is that correct?

    Thank you fellow Portlander! I appreciate your efforts ♡
    Denise

    Reply

  4. Margaret Perusich says

    I have a Mikasa Platinum Y200 set purchased in the early 1980s. It is all white with a platinum edge trim, made in Japan. Would this set likely be unsafe?

    Reply

  7. Cathy says

    Hi Tamara,

    I just purchased at Costco on July 31, 2021, a Mikasa Trellis bone china set made in China. It is all white with no patterns or designs. Here is a link to the set: https://costcocouple.com/mikasa-trellis-bone-china-set/. The set I have doesn’t have mugs but pasta bowls instead. It is manufactured by Lifetime Brands, Inc. at 22 Blake Street, Medford, MA 02155.

    I searched your website and this set is not found. Do you know if this set is safe from high level of lead and is safe for home use?

    Reply

  8. Bonnie Compton says

    Tamara,
    I was curious about my Mikasa Ultrastone Gray dinnerware so I reached out to the company. They stated that California Propisition passed in 1986 and that their dinnerware meets or exceeds the federal standards for lead and other contaminants. My dishes were produced from 1986-1997 from what I have gathered through internet research. We don’t use these dishes for everyday use, but was wondering what your thoughts are or if you have ever tested the Mikasa Ultrastone dinnerware.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Rein says

      Bonnie, I have the Mikasa Ultrastone Country Blue and am wondering the same thing. The little research I’ve done today found that stoneware typically tends to have less lead than other dinnerware because it is fired at a higher temperature (over 1000 F). I’m trying to find something which confirms Ultrastone IS stoneware. I noticed that the pattern is NOT on the inside of the cups, at least. But how much is “less lead” than other types of dinnerware?

      I am a lover of vintage things, particularly coffee pots, tea pots, and pitchers. Now it seems my newest hobby will be testing my collection of these things for lead. I can attest to the dangers though as I started using one of my vintage coffee pots last year and noticed I felt dizzy after a few days of using it and that being the only thing I had changed in my daily routine I knew to stop using it and immediately go back to what had been working. The dizziness went away the next day. I hadn’t considered it being lead at the time because I didn’t know about it then.

      Reply

      • Rein says

        I also reached out to Mikasa about the Ultrastone Country Blue and they were bought out by another company. However, I am still curious whether it is considered stoneware.

        From Mikasa, “Thank you for your email. We are sorry to advise that we do not have any specific information to provide you with regarding the Mikasa Ultrastone Country Blue dinnerware that was manufactured many years prior to our acquisition of the Mikasa Brand.

        However, we can advise that the Country Blue pattern was manufactured after the enactment of Proposition 65, so the following statement would apply.

        Thanks for reaching out with your question about lead in Mikasa products. We’re happy to let you know that all our products are perfectly safe to use every day. Mikasa products are manufactured using naturally occurring ingredients (like clay), and are thoroughly tested by accredited, independent laboratories, and all meet or exceed federal standards and California Proposition 65 requirements relating to lead and other contaminants.”

        I hope someone finds this helpful.

        Reply

  9. Gracia Ammen says

    Hi Tamara,

    You wrote about Mikasa English Countryside Dinner Plates made in Malaysia. What about Mikasa English Countryside Rim Soup Bowls White 9 3/8″? I have both of them.

    Your advice is much appreciated.

    Thank you.

    Reply

    • Tamara says

      Hi Gracia – if they are from the same line and of thee same age – they are likely positive wth similar results. Please click through to all of the posts to see the range in test results for various Mikasa products.

      Tamara

      Reply

  10. Sharon Grissom says

    Hi Tamara,
    I have a set of Mikasa English Countryside (mostly white but a few of my pieces are blue) that I purchased in the 90s. I assume those are not safe. This pattern is still current from Mikasa as is the pattern Italian Countryside, which is available in white and several colors. Are current patterns from Mikasa safe? Does it matter whether the current patterns are white or colored? I really like the durability of Mikasa and would like to stay with this company. I also have their Christmas Story pattern from 90s. I will search to see if you have written about it, but I assume it may be unsafe, too. Thank you for all that you do to make us aware.

    Sharon Grissom

    Reply

    • Tamara says

      Any from that era (from this brand) will be unsafe, and their new dishes (in similar patterns) should be lead-safe or lead-free.
      T

      Reply

  11. Susan Busby says

    I have a full set (12 place settings with every possible auxlliary piece) of the Just Flowers pattern from Mikasa. I inherited them from my grandmother but have left them sitting in a cabinet for years. Recently I have thought it might be nice to use them. However, with a new grandchild in the family, the issue of lead is very much on my mind. Do you have any results for this pattern?

    Reply

  12. Rein says

    I read that you had found Mikasa Country Cabin to be lead-safe, but what is the other style that was lead-safe? I can’t seem to find that. Thank you

    Reply

  13. Beth says

    After reading something on the site here, I checked my Mikasa copper mugs box and they had a Prop 65 warning! And said wash your hands! WHY would they even manufacture something like that which a person would drink out of!?!? I just wrote them for a refund. Doubt I will get it, as it’s been three years, LOL. Thankfully, I never had the occasion to make Moscow Mules and even use the mugs.

    But what about these types of clear, “lead-free crystal” glasses / drinkware? They say “lead-free”….

    https://www.mikasa.com/products/cheers-set-of-4-double-old-fashioned-glasses

    Reply

  14. Taipa Berwick says

    Hi, I am wondering if you have tested the Mikasa Swirl White dinnerware. They were purchased around 2016. I have been using these with my family.

    Reply

  15. Diana says

    Have you tested MIKASA GARDEN CLUB CA-508 GARDEN TREASURES dishes? I would like to know about if LEAD or any other heavy metals are in these 1980s dishes?

    Reply

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