pots and pans questions

[honeysesame]

so i just bought a preseasoned "emeril" cast iron dutch oven and skillet (cuz i happened to be at bed bath and beyond and have been so lame about ordering from lodge so i just went for it ) and now i'm doing some searches on mdc-- originally to find out if i should ***reseason it and how*** (so that is still one of my questions!!)-- but now i realize that it is made in china and so may have arsenic in it???? does anyone know more about this? should i return.....? and, my other question which i hope it's ok to just include in the same post, is i notice i have all these scratches on my stainless steel frying pan from all clad. should i be concerned about this? i don't know if we ever sent in for the warranty or if that makes a difference..... okay, thanks everyone!!:

[honeysesame]

update and one remaining question re: ss scratches
well, i did run across some not so great reviews of the emeril cast iron-- though it was hard to find anything really informative about arsenic-- so i guess i'll just return them after all. i think i can figure out and get info about the decision to either reseason (sounds like a lot of work) or just season the preseasoned lodge if i ever get my booty in gear to order it (why am i so laaaazy??? ).... so my remaining question is--
is it bad that my stainless steel pan has little scratches all over it? or is that normal?
thanks....

[godusjourney]

I don't know about your stainless steel pan, but I'd say scratches are probably just fine and part of the wear and tear of pans, as long as they are of a good quality of stainless steel.

In regards to iron pans...I just read recently (and it could be very wrong, but who knows, really) that the iron that comes off the pans while cooking isn't assimilable and can contribute to heavy metals in the body. Just another thought to research and think about. Don't know anything about arsenic and iron pans, though. Could be...things made in China for the US market tend to hold the trend of "cutting corners" so there could be other things in there.

Good luck!!!