Iridescent stainless silverware from Target: Room Essentials Annika Flatware Set
The silverware set pictured here was purchased at Target.
Full XRF Test results are below.
“Pretty” doesn’t have to mean “Toxic!”
These are a terrific choice! This is the silverware set I bought my son for his college apartment. He LOVES them and his roomies love them too, apparently! (I recently asked him if he was using them on a regular basis and he told me that he uses them whenever they are clean, lol… indicating that they are often in the dirty dishes pile because his roomies are always using them, too!)
They are colorful and fun, yet solid stainless steel. He has been using them since September of this year and the colorful finish has not worn at all. #Bonus: they are LOW NICKEL stainless steel (for those who have Nickel concerns when using stainless steel cookware.) Some additional reading: my article “What is Stainless Steel.”
Food surface of the knife:
Stainless Steel: 410/16
60-second test, the handle of the knife tested similarly
- Chromium (Cr): 133,600 +/- 2,000 ppm
- Molybdenum (Mo): 1,675 +/- 93 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 113 +/- 33 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 590 +/- 162 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 1,651 +/- 304 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 843,600 +/- 2,600 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 3,438 +/- 891 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 13,300 +/- 1,300 ppm
Bowl of spoon:
Stainless Steel: 410/16
60-second test, the handle of the spoon tested similarly
- Chromium (Cr): 135,200 +/- 2,100 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 85 +/- 30 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 869 +/- 167 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 1,339 +/- 281 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 848,700 +/- 2,600 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 3,023 +/- 833 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 1,293 +/- 622 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 7,704 +/- 1,086 ppm
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing our work. I will likely update this article soon with more information. In the meantime, please check out the following links if you have any questions:
- Learn more about the testing methodology for all test results reported here on this website.
- Here’s a video showing you how to search the site most efficiently, given there are over 2,700 articles and pages.
- Check out this link for my documentary feature film on childhood Lead poisoning.
Please let me know if you have any questions. With 1.165 million unique readers in 2020 alone, I am not always able to answer each and every question personally, but I do try.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
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). All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times to confirm the test results for each component tested. Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition).
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Wow! I’m surprised these are non-toxic. Beautiful silverware!
Me too! I was hopeful, but still surprised!
T
Do you know if the Crofton brand from Aldi’s that is also iridescent is lead free?Thanks, Sherri
Sorry I have not tested others beside this set. Is it marked Stainless Steel?
hi! does an item have to be stamped stainless to actually be stainless? I have purchased quite a few things that advertise as stainless but there is no actual stamp on it. Also – how do you feel about stainless with a black handle- the kind that they add for comfort? I also see stainless that adds zinc alloy which doesn’t look good. quite overwhelming and confusing but thank you every single day for helping all of us navigate through this!
Ditto to your comment Danielle! Tamara, thank you so much for your blog. I tried to find an answer on your blog but haven’t found one yet so I am wondering the same thing as Danielle: “How do you feel about stainless with a black handle- the kind that they add for comfort? ” I mean this in regards to both silverware and cooking utensils (Stainless Steel spatulas, etc. with black handles)
Omg! This makes me so happy! Whenever I saw those I wondered if they had lead in them! Now I need to go shopping at Target haha. Thank you!!!
Wallace was very happy that I said you approved these and I was able to let them get some yesterday at the store! They were out of the small spoons, so we only got 2 small forks, but plan to get more.
LOVE!
I can’t believe these are safe! I saw a set at Walmart and instantly thought of you and all the tea that would be spilled. I’m so surprised! And only a little disappointed to not find a scathing review.
Hello do you have any other suggestions on a flatware Set? Just a plain stainless steel. Thank you
Any plain stainless should be good. Ikea has inexpensive sets. Avoid anything with mixed materials (plastic, brass, etc.)
What’s the costing on these? I tried purchasing a set but it states it chromium plated
I’m sorry coating on these I purchased a set that said they were chromium plated stainless steel. Thanks
I’m sorry coating not costing
Are all the metals listed in these tests safe to be leaching into our foods and ingesting them? I can’t imagine any amount of these to be safe. Titanium? Valadium?
That’s awesome that these are lead free! I actually avoided these because I was unsure and skeptical, but now I have regrets!
You didn’t list lead and cadmium levels in the list of results. Did you also test for those metals in this product? And if yes, is this product lead and cadmium free or safe?
Ch’an Dios (thank you),
Thank you. I’ve been struggling on whether to give these to my neighbor for her birthday. I know she likes iridescence, but I didn’t want to give her anything toxic. Now I can buy these products without fear.
🙂