Vintage Tupperware Archives

More than 4 years later and still no recall or public statement from Tupperware! Sign the petition!

October 31, 2023May 15, 2024

For those new to the Lead Safe Mama 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 four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Tamara owns and runs Lead…

Vintage plastic Tupperware blocks toy: non-detect for Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, Mercury (likely has BPA given the age.)

November 21, 2021

1 Comment

Note: I do not know if these test results apply to all years of manufacture of this toy. The toy is not marked with the years of manufacture and there is no clue (from the markings) as to the year of manufacture. HOWEVER: the colors are distinctly different than the colors of vintage Tupperware plastic I have…

Stop using your vintage Tupperware NOW. These measuring cups are positive for 2,103 ppm Lead + 250 ppm Arsenic.

December 28, 2019November 13, 2023

383 Comments

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…

Vintage Tupperware ORANGE bowl: 3,380 ppm Cadmium + 935 ppm Mercury (both are extremely poisonous to humans)

December 28, 2019August 10, 2023

30 Comments

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…

Lead Safe Mama’s work is featured on Better Homes & Gardens Australia today!

August 1, 2019August 2, 2019

1 Comment

This morning I logged in to check the traffic on my blog (as I do many mornings) and I noticed that there were already more than 5,000 views (and it wasn’t even 8:00 a.m. yet!) I traced the source of the traffic using the handy “spy-tools” on the back end of my website and found…

Vintage Tupperware Cup. Year Made Unknown. Unlike other colors it is negative for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium & Arsenic.

June 18, 2019June 18, 2019

8 Comments

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. When using an XRF instrument to test the cup pictured here (which is made of solid red plastic with no painted markings or decorations) it had the following readings: Barium (Ba): 162 +/- 90 ppm Zinc (Zn): 66 +/- 8 ppm Copper (Cu): 23 +/-…

Please avoid vintage Tupperware. This is a kid’s 6 oz. cup. It’s positive for 876 ppm Lead, 331 ppm Cadmium, + Arsenic.

May 23, 2019August 10, 2023

58 Comments

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…

Want some poison with your lemonade? Vintage Tupperware pitcher: 18 ppm Lead, 225 ppm Cadmium, 30 ppm Mercury.

May 5, 2019May 5, 2019

When tested with an XRF instrument this vintage Tupperware brand orange plastic skinny juice / lemonade pitcher had the following readings: Orange Plastic of the Container: Lead (Pb): 18 +/- 4 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 225 +/- 11 ppm Mercury (Hg): 30 +/- 7 ppm Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect Barium (Ba): 438 +/- 87 ppm Chromium (Cr):…

Remember licking this after mom frosted a cake? Vintage Tupperware Cake Decorator: 1,283 ppm Lead (90 is toxic)

May 5, 2019August 10, 2023

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…

Consumers can’t tell: one of these Tupperware bowls has 3,136 ppm Cadmium + 773 Mercury (both are poisons), one does not.

April 21, 2019April 21, 2019

5 Comments

As a consumer you have no way to know which vintage Tupperware piece has toxic heavy metals (including Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Antimony and Lead – some of which are well documented known carcinogens) and which does not. It is time for Tupperware to step in and make a public statement about this (and possibly…

March 27, 2019 – Wednesday, 1:52 p.m. I just got a response from Tupperware. Click to read full exchange.

March 27, 2019January 11, 2021

28 Comments

Corporate Response | Tupperware | Vintage Tupperware

August 2019 Update: Given Tupperware’s limited response since this issue first came up in March of 2019 (see post below), I have started a Change.org petition asking for a more formal proactive response from the company, click here to sign it. The image below includes my original communication and the full response that I got from…

Orange Tupperware Vintage Measuring Cups: 61 ppm Cadmium. Cadmium is a known carcinogen for humans.

March 23, 2019March 23, 2019

12 Comments

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. When using an XRF instrument to test these plastic measuring cups (which are made of solid orange plastic with no painted markings or decorations) they had the following readings: Cadmium (Cd): 61 +/- 7 ppm Barium (Ba): 138 +/- 71 ppm Zinc (Zn): 394 +/-…

White Tupperware Vintage Measuring Cups: Non-detect for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Arsenic. [But these have BPA!]

March 23, 2019February 17, 2020

4 Comments

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. When using an XRF instrument to test these plastic measuring cups (which are made of solid white plastic with no painted markings or decorations) they had the following readings: Zinc (Zn): 21 +/- 7 ppm Titanium (Ti): 537 +/- 250 ppm All test results reported…

1982 Tupperware Catalog (a gift from one of my readers to help us date some of the pieces we have tested for Lead.)

March 21, 2019March 21, 2019

41 Comments

I am so thankful to one of my readers (thank you Gail!) who found the 1982 Tupperware catalog and photographed each and every page and e-mailed them to me! Here they are to serve as a reference to help us date some of the vintage Tupperware pieces that I (together with the help of my…

Yellow Tupperware Cup (year unknown): Non-detect for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Arsenic.

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019

3 Comments

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. When using an XRF instrument to test this plastic cup (which is made of solid yellow plastic with no painted markings or decorations) it had the following readings: Lead (Pb): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Cadmium (Cd): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Arsenic (As): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Chromium (Cr): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Antimony (Sb): Negative/Non-Detect…

Orange Tupperware Cup (year unknown): Non-detect for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Arsenic.

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. When using an XRF instrument to test this plastic cup (which is made of solid orange plastic with no painted markings or decorations) it had the following readings: Lead (Pb): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Cadmium (Cd): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Arsenic (As): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Chromium (Cr): Negative/Non-Detect (Nd) Antimony (Sb): Negative/Non-Detect…

Vintage Orange Tupperware Funnel With Handle: 1,714 ppm Lead + 17 ppm Cadmium + 181 ppm Arsenic

March 20, 2019

11 Comments

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. When using an XRF instrument to test this funnel (which is made of solid orange plastic with no painted markings or decorations) it had the following readings: Lead (Pb): 1,714 +/- 29 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 17 +/- 6 ppm Arsenic (As): 181 +/- 20…

“Is MY Tupperware toxic?” (Images included for each item tested & linked to test results for Mercury, Lead, Arsenic, & Cadmium)

March 20, 2019August 10, 2023

60 Comments

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…

Red Tupperware Mug and Saucer, Year Unknown: Red plastic elements are negative for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium & Arsenic.

March 20, 2019

3 Comments

To see more Tupperware items I have tested, click here. The saucer of this set was sent to me for testing. The only consideration with this that my readers really need to be aware of is that I have not tested the white decorative element on the mug and cannot know without testing if that…

#AskTamara: How can I tell if my vintage Tupperware plastic cups are toxic? By Color? By Shape? By Age?

March 17, 2019December 28, 2019

84 Comments

New post! First in a series of four that I will be doing to try to draw some distinctions between the Tupperware pieces WITH toxicants (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium and Arsenic) and those without. If you have any information or links to help inform this conversation (for example information about years made for certain model numbers?)…

Press Release: Toxicants (Lead, Cadmium, Mercury & Arsenic) Found In Vintage Tupperware

March 16, 2019March 16, 2019

Press release is the second image, below the embedded Facebook post. Please share with any press contact you might have. Thank you. (Click the image of the press release to see the full-size PDF with clickable links.) For all of the posts related to this press release, click here. _____________________________________ Original Facebook Post: _______________________________________________________

Why do VINTAGE plastics (like Fisher Price & Tupperware) often contain Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, & Cadmium?

March 14, 2019November 14, 2022

3 Comments

Tupperware | Vintage | Vintage Fisher Price | Vintage Plastic | Vintage Tupperware

For starters, please consider reading this linked study (click the image below) which discusses this concern in detail: There are two reasons vintage plastics often have Lead: In brightly-colored vintage plastics, the metallic toxicants (Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, and Cadmium) are often used as components of colorants in the plastics. I have also found that vintage flexible/pliable…

Scientific research paper from 2015 confirming the presence of toxicants in vintage plastics.

March 14, 2019March 15, 2019

1 Comment

For those in the Tupperware camp who just can’t believe that there are toxic heavy metals in their vintage plastic dishes, I share this with you. Below is a link to a research paper from 2015 which confirmed the presence of heavy metals in vintage plastics (specifically looking at vintage plastic toys). This is a…

Vintage Tupperware ORANGE cup: 3,270 ppm Cadmium + 1,058 ppm Mercury (both are extremely poisonous to humans)

March 12, 2019March 12, 2019

3 Comments

To read details about the concern for toxicants in vintage Tupperware products, I encourage you to read my original post on the subject here (and – if you have time – please also read all of the comments and responses on that post for the full conversation.) Thank you! Scroll down to see all…