Everyday cooking pots pose hidden lead risk
Locally manufactured aluminium cooking pots can release toxic lead into food, potentially exposing families to the harmful metal through everyday meals, according to a joint study by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and Stanford University.
The study found that lead release was highest during the initial uses of new pots, with rice containing up to 305 micrograms of lead per kilogram and khichuri up to 420 micrograms.
Both levels were significantly higher than the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) limit of 10 micrograms per kilogram for food intended for babies and young children.
Published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology in October, the study examined seven used aluminium pots collected from households and 20 new pots purchased from a local supplier.
Researchers detected lead in food cooked in all 20 new pots and six of the seven used pots.
The findings raise concerns about locally manufactured cookware, much of which is made by melting scrap metal without adequate screening for contaminants.
Researchers found that lead levels in food declined with repeated use of new pots but remained detectable even during the third cooking.
Scrubbing new pots with steel-wire sponges released about five times more lead than leaving them unscrubbed. Stirring food with metal spatulas also increased lead release.
Based on typical rice consumption among children in rural Bangladesh, the researchers estimated that a child eating rice cooked in such pots could ingest more than five times the FDA’s reference level for daily lead intake from food.
However, the estimate was based on a model rather than direct measurements of children’s exposure.
“Lead can’t be seen, smelled or tasted, so a pot that looks perfectly good can still be added to a family’s food,” said Dr Jenna Forsyth, director of Project Unleaded at Stanford University’s Human and Planetary Health programme.
She said the study measured lead in both cookware and food to establish how everyday cooking pots could become a source of exposure.
Lead exposure can cause lasting damage to children’s brain development, affecting their learning and behaviour. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is no known safe level of lead in blood.
Dr Jesmin Sultana, assistant scientist at icddr,b’s Environmental Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme, advised families to choose cookware with credible evidence of food safety, particularly when preparing meals for young children.
She also advised households using locally made pots to avoid steel-wire scrubbers and cooking acidic dishes in them. However, she cautioned that these measures could not reliably make contaminated cookware safe.
The researchers said preventing exposure should not be left solely to consumers, as contamination could occur during manufacturing.
They urged the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) to introduce and enforce clear safety standards for cookware.
Proposed measures include screening scrap metal used in production, testing finished pots for lead release into food and helping small-scale manufacturers access safer raw materials and testing facilities.
“Affordable cookware should also be safe cookware,” said Dr Md Mahbubur Rahman of icddr,b’s Environmental Health and WASH programme, calling on authorities to establish and enforce standards for lead leaching from cookware.
The researchers acknowledged that the study was a small laboratory investigation and said further research was needed to assess other types of cookware and everyday cooking practices.
The study was supported by Stanford University’s King Center on Global Development.
