It’s a potential health hazard. Imported cookware may leach significant amounts of lead into food.
Some types of imported cookware products made from aluminum, brass, and aluminum alloys known as Hindalium/Hindolium or Indalium/Indolium have been tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and its state partners. They found the cookware leached lead into food when used for cooking, so the food was unsafe to eat.
Potentially affected products aren’t limited to these. Additional products will be added to the FDA alert as they’re discovered.
Young children, women of child-bearing age, and those who are breastfeeding may be at higher risk for potential adverse events after eating food cooked using these products.
The FDA couldn’t identify and contact the distributor or responsible party to facilitate a recall, so the products could be sold as cookware in retail stores. Retailers should discontinue sale, and consumers shouldn’t use this product as cookware or food storage.
Retailers and distributors are responsible for ensuring cookware sold and/or distributed are safe and comply with FDA regulations. Ask your retailer if the cookware has been tested for lead.
Consumers should check their homes for the products in the FDA warning and throw away any cookware that may be able to leach lead into food. Don’t donate or refurbish the cookware.
If consumers have concerns about lead exposure or elevated levels of lead, they should contact their health care provider.
Questions for FDA related to lead in cookware can be sent to premarkt@fda.hhs.gov.
Lead is toxic to humans and can affect people of any age or health status, and there’s no known safe level of exposure to lead. Even low levels of lead exposure can cause serious health problems, especially in children and fetuses.
Children and babies are more susceptible to lead toxicity due to their smaller body size, metabolism, and rapid growth. At low levels, children may not have obvious symptoms but can still experience trouble learning, low IQ, and behavior changes. At higher levels of lead exposure, people may experience fatigue, headache, stomach pain, vomiting, or neurologic changes.
