The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found six additional cookware items that may release dangerous levels of lead into food, expanding a safety warning first issued in August.
“FDA’s collection and sampling of cookware products remain ongoing,” the agency stated.
The newly identified products include items sold under the Royal Kitchen Cookware and Town Food Service Equipment Co. brands, as well as unbranded cookware sold at various retailers. The agency has been testing imported pots and pans made from aluminum, brass, and metal alloys known as Hindalium or Hindolium, Indalium or Indolium that have shown the potential to leach lead when used for cooking or food storage.
Testing by the FDA and state partners has revealed that such materials can release lead under conditions designed to simulate normal use in contact with food. The metals in question are commonly used in some types of imported cookware, but are not used in the United States because they leach lead.
Federal regulations do not allow lead for use as a color additive, food additive, or component of cookware or food contact surfaces.
The agency’s initial warning in August identified products from Indian aluminum cookware manufacturer Saraswati Strips Pvt. Ltd., which sells items under the Tiger White brand name. In September, the FDA added products from two more companies: Goyal Group Inc., which markets Silver Horse brand cookware, and Grain Market LLC.
The October expansion added three new manufacturers and distributors to the alert: New Reliance Traders Inc., which sells Royal Kitchen Cookware products; Win Chong Trading Corp., which distributes Town Food Service Equipment Co. items; and Indian Cookware & Appliance LLC, which sells unbranded products.
Among the newly listed products are a Royal Kitchen Cookware milk pan tested at a New Jersey store, two Town Food Service Equipment Co. aluminum saucepans found at a Washington, D.C. retailer, and unbranded brass pots sold in California.
The complete list of affected cookware now includes various kadais, karahis, milk pans, and saucepans sold at specialty markets and restaurant supply stores nationwide. The FDA tested products at locations in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., California, and other states.
Consumers who own any listed products should immediately discard them and should not donate or attempt to refurbish the cookware.
No Safe Level
Lead poses serious health risks to people of all ages, and no level of exposure is considered safe. Young children, women of childbearing age, and people who are breastfeeding face heightened risks of adverse health effects after eating food prepared using the contaminated cookware.
Children and infants are especially vulnerable to lead toxicity because of their small size, metabolism, and rapid growth.
At low exposure levels, children may not show obvious symptoms but can still experience learning difficulties, reduced IQ, and behavioral changes.
Higher exposure levels can cause fatigue, headache, stomach pain, vomiting, or neurological changes in people of any age.
Even when children and babies show no clear symptoms, they can suffer permanent damage from elevated blood lead levels.
Retailers and distributors are responsible for ensuring that cookware sold for food use is safe and complies with all FDA regulations, according to the agency. The FDA encourages sellers to use the agency’s lead leach testing protocol for cookware or other available testing methods.
