Lead Glazes For Ceramic Foodware

Lead is used in the glazes or decorations covering the surface of some ceramic dishes.

Lead glazes for ceramic foodware.

For this reason the maximum legal limits for leachable lead and cadmium under the gcgr are different for different sizes and shapes of products. National council on radiation protection and measurement. Mccauley the release of lead and cadmium from ceramic foodware decorations. This lead can get into food and drink prepared stored or served in the dishes.

Food and drug administration fda and the canadian consumer and corporate affairs have regulated how much lead can leach from foodware into food and drink. If the glaze does not state lead free or leadless on the label assume it contains lead until proven otherwise. It is found notably in the glaze colors red yellow white and orange. Glaze can serve to color decorate or waterproof an item.

Glass technol 23 1982 101 105. Glazes containing solvents are both flammable and hazardous. Leaching of uranium from glass and ceramic foodware and decorative items. Health physics 63 3.

It also gives a tougher surface. Lead glazes should only be used on non foodware items. If the glaze does not state lead free or leadless on the label assume it contains lead until proven otherwise. Ceramic glaze is an impervious layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fused to a ceramic body through firing.

Acidic liquids are of particular concern. Lead is a soft poisonous metal that is used in colored paints and ceramic glazes. Glazes containing solvents are both flammable and hazardous. How important is tableware as a source of lead exposure.

The table below summarizes the limits for leachable lead and cadmium in glazed ceramic and glass. For most people tableware alone does not pose a. Design lead glazed pieces so that they won t be used for food or drink. Glazing renders earthenware vessels suitable for holding liquids sealing the inherent porosity of unglazed biscuit earthenware.

Lead glazes should only be used on non foodware items. Glaze is also used on stoneware and porcelain. Design lead glazed pieces so that they won t be used for food or drink. The amounts of lead or cadmium that could be released from a glazed ceramic or glass foodware product are affected by the size and shape of the product.

This lead glaze is often used on ceramic clay porcelain stone or earthen pottery or cookware.