Vintage Corelle “Meadow” dish — positive for FOUR poisons (Lead, Cadmium, Mercury & Antimony) on the food surface, including 16,700 ppm Lead (90 ppm & up is unsafe for kids)

ByTamara Posted: Updated:
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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 four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).

  • Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a unique community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
  • Since 2009, Tamara has been conducting XRF testing (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
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Published: April 30, 2022
Updated: March 11, 2024

When tested using XRF technology, all patterns of vintage (pre-2005) Corelle dishes with printed colorful patterns (normally found on the food-contact surface of the dish, like with the dish pictured — or also sometimes found on the exterior of the Corelle bowls and coffee cups) test positive for unsafe levels of Lead and / or other toxicants (poisonous heavy metals) including Cadmium, Arsenic and Antimony in the painted decorations.

The vintage and new plain white and plain sand / cream colored versions of glass dishes from this brand (the dishes with no painted markings besides the logo mark on the underside) are safe for use with food as they test negative for Lead and Cadmium in nearly every instance (when tested with XRF technology – which is a way to acurately measure the total content of metals of an object, in parts per million [ppm]).

The following short video shows the dish pictured being tested using two different testing methodologies, XRF testing and reactive agent home testing:

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Lead Poisoning Prevention (@leadsafemama)

 

Full Test Results for the dish pictured above (as well as a discussion of the safety concern for these dishes) are below. But first – some safer (confirmed lead-free) dish options:

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Continue reading below the images. Each of the small images below is a link to an article with the test results for the dish pictured.

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This article discusses the dish below (and specifically XRF test results for heavy metals for this dish):

Full XRF test results for the vintage “Meadow” pattern Corelle dish pictured are below. For additional information please check out the following articles:

  1. More Corelle dishware that has been tested by Lead Safe Mama, LLC
  2. An article discussing Corelle representative’s statement that pre-2005 dishware should be retired from food-use purposes.
  3. An article discussing the concern for Cadmium in consumer goods.
  4. An article covering the issue (of toxic heavy metals found in vintage dishware) from a broader perspective.
  5. If you are new here, please also check out the menu for this website (link here), which has quick buttons to many related topics and other products we have tested, along with their test results.

Test on the center of the dish (orange and yellow flower)
60-second test (using an XRF instrument)
All tests are repeated multiple times to confirm the results.

  • Lead (Pb): 16,700 +/- 300 ppm
  • Cadmium (Cd): 209 +/- 11 ppm
  • Mercury (Hg): 54 +/- 22 ppm
  • Bromine (Br): non-detect
  • Arsenic (As): non-detect
  • Chromium (Cr): non-detect
  • Iron (Fe): 647 +/- 114 ppm
  • Cobalt (Co): 103 +/- 53 ppm
  • Copper (Cu): 43 +/- 24 ppm
  • Zinc (Zn): 231 +/- 25 ppm
  • Titanium (Ti): 14,800 +/- 1,300 ppm
  • Zirconium (Zr): 1,388 +/- 37 ppm
  • Indium (In): 12 +/- 8 ppm
  • Tin (Sn): 15 +/- 9 ppm
  • Antimony (Sb): 43 +/- 14 ppm
  • Platinum (Pt): 369 +/- 71 ppm
  • No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode. All tests are repeated multiple times to confirm the results.

How much Lead is “too much” Lead?

The painted/decorative elements on these particular dishes tested positive for 16,700 ppm Lead.

For context, the amount of Lead that is considered toxic in a newly manufactured item “intended for use by children” is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze, or coating, and anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate.

Dishes (modern or vintage) are not considered to be items “intended for use by children,” and thus are not regulated for total lead content in the same way as toys and other similar children’s items (unless they are dishes expressly manufactured, marketed and sold as children’s dishes after 2010).

Why is this much Lead a problem?

There is no place for Lead on our dining tables (or in our kitchens). None at all. All Federal agencies agree that there is no safe level of Lead exposure for humans, especially for children. Said another way, Lead can cause harm at any level of exposure.

To find 16,700 ppm Lead on the center of the food surface of a dish is very alarming. The Lead in this dish is also definitely (without question) bioavailable (as demonstrated by the second testing methodology shown in the short video at the top of this article). What this means is that when you eat food from this dish (especially hot food or acidic food – including foods prepared with lemon juice, vinegar or tomato sauce) you are likely ingesting an unsafe level of micro-particulate Lead with your meal. 

It literally just takes a microscopic amount of Lead to poison a child (or any human for that matter) and there is currently (at the time of publishing this article) NO ONE that we are aware of (no researcher or public agency) who is studying the potential impact that eating (daily!) off of Lead-painted vintage dishware has on the users (because no corporation has identified a direct financial benefit from such a study).

There was however a study done in 2017 (in Plymouth, England) that evaluated the concern for health impacts caused by Lead paint on decorative glassware (drinking glasses). Given these Corelle dishes are essentially the same combination of materials (glassware with high-Lead paint), one can easily extrapolate that the concerns brought up by that study likely also apply to painted / decorated vintage Corelle dishes. Here’s the link to an article discussing that study, Here’s an article from The Guardian — published in November of 2023 — that also brought up the concern for painted glassware.

The FDA and the State of California each also warn about the concerns for Lead-contaminated dishware (including vintage dishware), but unfortunately they each focus more on handmade (“Traditional”) potteries from other countries (vs. focusing on USA made vintage items) so people are not quick to understand that these health implications apply to Lead-contaminated vintage dishes across the board.

Given Lead’s extreme toxicity (and especially given the lack of regulation of vintage Lead-contaminated items) , we need to err on the side of prudence and proactively remove all potential sources of Lead exposure from our homes ourselves, starting with the easy things like the dishes we choose to eat on every day. To learn more about why Lead in vintage dishware is a potential concern, please click here.

What should I do if I have been eating off of these dishes?

If you have been eating off of these dishes (or similar dishes from this era — even if the painted decorative elements are “only on the edges” of the dish or “only on the outside’ of the dish), we encourage you to stop using these dishes immediately and to ask your doctor for a Blood Lead Level test, to determine if you might have any potential exposure that needs to be addressed. Please check out the following article links for additional information that you may find helpful:

~ End ~

The photo below is the back of the dish pictured above.

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11 Comments

  1. SO . . . I have these dishes and use them regularly with our meals Grandsons included. Do I need to get rid of them and replace them?

    Reply

    1. I have Meadow dishes also, been using them for 40 years!
      What dishes are safe now! Is new pattern of Corelle ok???

      Reply

  3. I have the Corelle “Heart” pattern dishes – a red/blue quilt-like decoration only on the edges of the plates & cream soup bowls. (Cereal bowls have the pattern only on the outside). Has this pattern been tested?

    Reply

  4. Have you tested the wildflowers and bamboo corelle? I posted pictures in response to my question on FB, but not sure if you saw it.

    Reply

  5. What about if you only have winter frost white corelle? Or the casseroles that only have paint on the outside?

    Reply

      1. I have corella vitrelle blue dishes made in USA. Are they safe? I thought if it was made in the USA it was safe. Please let me know if it is.
        Thank you for what you are doing.

        Reply

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