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).
May 2, 2023 — Tuesday
XRF Test Results for the Thomas Rosenthal Group Dish Pictured
Quick Summary:
Even though these dishes are positive for traces of Lead, Cadmium, and Antimony, the levels are low enough that these dishes are considered to be safe by all modern standards currently in place for pottery/ceramics intended for use with food. They were likely also leach tested at the time of manufacture, and given the levels of toxicants found using XRF technology, I expect they also passed any applicable leach testing standards.
Some additional reading:
- To read more about the concern for Lead in pottery and china, click here.
- For the menu of this website (where you can look through different categories of all the items Lead Safe Mama, LLC has tested), click here.
- To see XRF test results for more “Made in Germany” pieces we have tested, click here.
- To learn more about sending in an item from your home for Lead Safe Mama, LLC to test, click here.
Color-Code Key to XRF Readings Below
Metals noted in RED are considered toxic heavy metals in most applications.
Metals noted in ORANGE are considered toxic in some applications (specifically with ingestion).
Metals noted in BLUE are not considered toxic in this application.
Metals noted in GRAY were not found to be present (with the low threshold of detection for the XRF instrument normally falling in the single or double-digit ppm for most metals).
Reading #1) Center of Food Surface (Plain White Area)
60-second test (repeated multiple times to confirm results)
- Lead (Pb): 41 +/- 10 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 12 +/- 5 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 34 +/- 8 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Selenium (Se): non-detect
- Barium (Ba): 49 +/- 27 ppm
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): 24 +/- 10 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 56 +/- 23 ppm
- Niobium (Nb): 244 +/- 16 ppm
- Indium (In): 17 +/- 6 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): non-detect
- Titanium (Ti): non-detect
- Bromine (Br): non-detect
- Manganese (Mn): non-detect
- Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): 2,811 +/- 179 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 77 +/- 10 ppm
- Vanadium (V): non-detect
- Platinum (Pt): non-detect
- Gold (Au): non-detect
- Cobalt (Co): non-detect
- No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode.
Reading #2) Green Logo Area on Back of Dish
60-second test (repeated multiple times to confirm results)
- Lead (Pb): 52 +/- 10 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 13 +/- 5 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 38 +/- 8 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Selenium (Se): non-detect
- Barium (Ba): 56 +/- 28 ppm
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): 17 +/- 11 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 63 +/- 24 ppm
- Niobium (Nb): 233 +/- 17 ppm
- Indium (In): 19 +/- 6 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): non-detect
- Titanium (Ti): non-detect
- Bromine (Br): non-detect
- Manganese (Mn): non-detect
- Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): 2,284 +/- 167 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 69 +/- 10 ppm
- Vanadium (V): non-detect
- Platinum (Pt): non-detect
- Gold (Au): non-detect
- Cobalt (Co): non-detect
- No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode.
~ End ~
Bettina says
Are these plates leaching lead and other findings into food? Would it make sense to replace these dishes even though they are safe by all standards?
empleat says
This still makes me sick, regulations are such a joke, i live in worst country in eu for food, it is corrupt and corporations used us as lab rats to test what they can get away with. 99% ppl are so stupid, they stand lines before shop opening for meat with less food content than in germany for same or higher price and look only at discount. Also reading labels is useless they don’t have to list even country of origin, it can be country where they bought food. So you can’t know anything from label. We have national consumer test site, but they focus on nonsense and have only little amount of tests, so it is joke even buying from eco farmers isn’t win it has many pitfalls also and they are also unscrupulous many times. Farmers even sell especially outside vegetables and fruits bought from supermarkets and no one watches that really, everyone wants most for themselves, that it is like to absurd levels… Instead raising other ppl up with them… Civilization will collapse likely so wth i made my peace with it…