The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has, in a recent consumer safety alert (on the agency’s website), warned consumers to stop using several imported cookware brands after tests showed they may leach “significant levels” of lead into food.
The products, made from aluminum, brass, and alloys, sold with trade names Hindalium or Indalium, were found to release the toxic metal during cooking. The FDA flagged three specific brands, Tiger White, Silver Horse, and JK Vallabhdas by name, and stated that some of the cookware could still be sitting on store shelves.
The federal agency, in its alert, also stressed that no level of lead is safe to ingest. Young children, women of childbearing age, and breastfeeding mothers are considered most at risk. The department further stated that it is contacting distributors to remove the cookware from circulation.
The Contamination Process
A report earlier this year in the peer-reviewed forum, Journal of Hazardous Materials, outlined how lead ends up in cookware and how recycling processes in some countries may not filter out impurities. Scrap items like radiators, old pots, computer parts, or even engine pieces can end up in the aluminum feedstock. In some cases, lead is deliberately added to make the metal easier to machine.
While the FDA has not released details on how widespread the problem is, the consumer alert underscores the risks tied to cheap, imported cookware.
Source: News Nation