crock pots and lead - Page 2

[summerlilies]

Does anyone anywhere have a crock pot that lead-free?

[tabitha]

i dont know if anyone has linked this before, but this seems acceptable:

vitaclay

here is a site where they discuss this very issue and mention the vita clay.

[MeadowSong_]

What about a stainless steel crock pot type? I know some rice cookers are made w/ stainless steel inserts.

[moneca]

What a bummer. Thanks for posting the thread. I wonder if Le Creuset has lead in the enamel. I tend to trust Europen products more than those made in the USA. Here is the Le Creuset product :

http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/product...?category_id=5

I couldn't find anything on the site that mentioned lead presence in the enamel. I'll have to call Monday.

I also have a Westbend slow cooker. I couldn't find anything addressing lead on the site and will call Monday.

[artemis33]

Originally Posted by tabitha

i dont know if anyone has linked this before, but this seems acceptable:

vitaclay

here is a site where they discuss this very issue and mention the vita clay.

I saw a link to these on another thread but when I was reading through I am pretty sure I saw they are Made In China. Let me go double check that.

It just bums me out because that does sound like a reasonable alternative, but not only is it pricey, but I don't think I'd trust it completely if MIC. Have to look iinto it more though, of course.

[ChristieB]

Originally Posted by moneca

I wonder if Le Creuset has lead in the enamel. I tend to trust Europen products more than those made in the USA. Here is the Le Creuset product :

http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/product...?category_id=5

I couldn't find anything on the site that mentioned lead presence in the enamel. I'll have to call Monday.

My dr. tested their enameled cast iron and found no leaching of any metals. He recommends them to all his patients. He didn't test their stoneware, though. He says it would be a different kind of glaze, so he just doesn't know (and I guess he doesn't care enough to test them . He just uses Pyrex for baking).

[summerlilies]

I am still searching high and low for a crock pot that doesn't have lead. Anyone have one?

[Metasequoia]

Still haven't heard back from Hamilton Beach - I sent them another email this morning...

[summerlilies]

I would love to hear what Hamilton Beach said. I guess I am deciding between Hamiliton Beach, CorningWare, and All-Clad. I can't tell what the interior of the All-Clad one is -- I emailed them. Does anyone know?

Does anyone have the CorningWare one? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pr_product_topDo you like it?

[3for3hb]

lead soup!!! right. great.

I've been wanting a new slow cooker and am glad I saw this (not that I'll be buying any time soon but a mama could put it on her wishlist...)

while we are on the subject of lead in cookware, does anyone know if pampered chef stoneware has lead? a bit OT but thought I'd ask.

[kaydeeM]

I have a 4 qt. Corningware slow cooker that I received for Christmas 2006. It works great, unlike all the other crock pots I've owned (except my Rival 3.5 qt.). It actually cooks low on low and high on high. My 6 and 7 qt. crock pots cooked high on the low setting.

Pampered Chef's stoneware is lead-free, according to their web site. Click on this link and scan down the beige column on the far left. ETA: They also say their glazes are lead-free here (left-hand column).

[mrsalf97]

I had no idea, and I use it all the time. I am so over this!

[momofmine]

So it seems like we've found two alternatives so far. The glass one here, which is on the small side (3.5 qt):
http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Gourmet-.../dp/B0006A2ZRA


And the stainless one, which is 4.77 qt, but really, really expensive:
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SNAE..._sbs_k_title_2

Do you think both of those would be safe? Which would you get if you could afford either? (Not that I can right now, but I'd like to save for one!)

[Jojo F.]

I have a Hamilton Beach and contacted them. It took a while for a response but this is the lame one I recieved-

I simply asked if there was any lead or cadmium in their crock pots....

"Thank you for contacting us!

For over 100 years it has been our priority and privilege to develop and manufacture high quality small appliances. Please be assured that our products and components meet all government requirements and are FDA and UL approved. They are also tested by independent laboratories to ensure the high quality that is expected of Hamilton Beach brand products. The rigorous tests we employ often exceed the standards set by our government making us a leader in the industry for quality and safety.

We will continue to demand excellence on your behalf because that is what you deserve. The success we continue to enjoy would not be possible without you, our valued consumer.

Thank you for your patronage!

Sincerely,

Stacy
Consumer Affairs" end quote

I'm not happy about this response and am about to e-mail miss Stacy again:/

[mamacolorado]

Originally Posted by Jojo F.

I have a Hamilton Beach and contacted them. It took a while for a response but this is the lame one I recieved-

I simply asked if there was any lead or cadmium in their crock pots....

"Thank you for contacting us!

For over 100 years it has been our priority and privilege to develop and manufacture high quality small appliances. Please be assured that our products and components meet all government requirements and are FDA and UL approved. They are also tested by independent laboratories to ensure the high quality that is expected of Hamilton Beach brand products. The rigorous tests we employ often exceed the standards set by our government making us a leader in the industry for quality and safety.

We will continue to demand excellence on your behalf because that is what you deserve. The success we continue to enjoy would not be possible without you, our valued consumer.

Thank you for your patronage!

Sincerely,

Stacy
Consumer Affairs" end quote

I'm not happy about this response and am about to e-mail miss Stacy again:/

Talk about generic response without and details or testing results provided!

I've contacted west bend who stated that the product has been tested and passed tests. They refused to provide me with any actual testing results so I told them I'd be chucking their product in the bin and searching for another.

Le Creuset personel were wonderful to speak with. They are mailing me the independent test results that analyzed their product's for enamel for lead and cadmium. The 15 1/2 goose pot is horribly expensive, but we've already had issues with mercury toxicity and I don't want to even take a chance of providing my family with lead along with the stock!

[Brookesmom]

I accidentally posted this on the other crockpot thread up in Nutrition and Good Eating:
---

I found some reassuring info on Le Creuset: (scroll down a bit)
http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/product..._Iron_Cookware

-Kelly
-----

I slow cook mostly in my two Le Creusets but was thinking of switching to the slow cooker sometimes for warmer weather. I'll have to look into that glass slow cooker link on Amazon.

[natmommy]

I'm a lurker, but wanted to contribute. I was just emailed this link yesterday about a newstory done on this topic and wanted to share it with you all. It doesn't look very promising.

http://www.kutv.com/content/news/spe...A4816&gsa=true

"Of the small sampling of slow cookers tested for me, 20 percent tested with a measurable amount of lead. But is lead actually leaching out of the cookers that contain lead?

I took Stacia's crock pot cooker to DataChem labs in Salt Lake City to find out. This is the same place where we tested plates I purchased from stores last fall and discovered lead was actually leaching into food.

Not only that, but when ceramic ware was heated to just 80-degrees, it released nearly 10-times the amount of lead as a plate at room temperature. Slow cookers heat up to more than 250-degrees.

Chemist Robert Aullman performed the same test on Stacia's crock pot. He used a four-percent acidic solution, established as the standard by the Food and Drug Administration, to test for lead leaching.

The new test showed there was a detectable level of lead leaching out of the slow cooker, at .085 parts per million. And anything below 2.0 is considered acceptable by the FDA.

The federal government says there is an acceptable level of lead that can leach out of dinnerware so this is in compliance. But let’s say, I don't want to eat any lead."

[momofmine]

This is so crazy! So, can someone please just tell me, what is the safest type of cookware to use, not just slow cookers, but in general. I think I just want to get a few things I know are safe, and figure out how to cook with those, and just skip the crock pots all together. So, what is the best thing to use, just in general?
Thanks so much for everyone who shares their knowledge here, or else how would we all know??

[octobermoon]

I too am so and because i love my slowcooker. (it's a Rival btw) i just used it last night and then came on here to find all of this info. later i was wondering just how much lead if any was coursing through our veins :
the alternatives mentioned here don't look all that promising to me, if anyone finds out anything new let us know......i am so glad to have found MDC and all of you savvy ladies. thank GOD!

[catnip]

See, I wrote to Rival and they flat said that there is no lead in their crock pots. The spelling and grammar in the reply was atrocious, but they did say that. I don't know I I can BELIEVE them, but that was what they said.