I get lots of concerned questions from readers worried that they are poisoning themselves and their families with lead leaching from crock pots. There are plenty of vague answers online from manufacturers saying that any lead in the cookware glaze is within government regulations and is otherwise harmless unless the glaze is cracked. Hmm. Not particularly reassuring if you ask me. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and end the great Crock Pot Lead Mystery once and for all.
For $2.50 per stick, I ordered these simple lead testers from Amazon. They got decent reviews and proved to be super simple to use.
I cracked open the first one and swabbed it around on my Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker for 30 seconds, like the package says. Other than picking up some residual oil from my inadequate cleaning, the swab remained the yellow of the tester liquid.
Then I tested my older Hamilton Beach slow cooker – same results.
Well, I thought, either my crock pots aren't leaching lead, or these sticks are bunk. So I decided to test out some other stuff. I activated a second stick and trolled around my house determined to find something containing lead.
I swabbed some old pipes and yard equipment. The stick stayed yellow, if not a bit dirty. I swabbed six different wooden toys that must have been made in China – not even a hint of pink appeared. Then I spotted our leaded glass window on our front door. Eureka! As soon as my tester hit the metal the swab bloomed a vibrant red. Lead.
No, I haven't tested all the slow cookers on the market. No, I don't know how heating the slow cooker over many hours will affect this result – though I will be testing after my next big batch of broth.
But, I DO feel pretty happy with those results.
Are you worried about lead in crock pots? Solve your own prock pot lead mystery…
Buy these lead test swabs here, and find out whether your slow cookers are secretly harboring toxicity. Then check back here and report your results.
Let's end the terror, so we can get back to living with slow cookers peacefully bubbling away on counter tops everywhere.
Have you heard of MisLEAD America? If not check her page out https://www.facebook.com/MisleadMovie?ref=ts&fref=ts
She is doing some awesome things and trying to make a documentary about lead. Maybe ask her what crock pots and or how to test them.
I love MisLead America! I swab everything for lead now thanks to her! hehe!
You might want to check swapping is only good for 600 parts per million or above and it is not nearly low
enough for cookware
Wow i just checked MisLEAD america, a lot of work done there. thanks for sharing.
Emily, the problem is not as simple as you have it here. With cookware, it’s not the leachable lead that shows up at room temperature with a swab of test strip. No cookware maker is so foolish to use lead that will rub off like that. It’s about the chemically bound lead either in the form of crystalline lead or lead frits/ leaded silica that leach into food, that is reactive entity and with heat also present as a cyclist. that’s the real problem. Lead does leach into food from enameled, glazed or any chemically treated cookware. that’s without a doubt, even though it does not show up with test swabs. :((. After a lot of searching i finally found a company that hand crafts cookware made from natural clay and does not glaze or treat its products with any chemicals, Miriams Earthen Cookware. I’ve been cooking in them for some time now and i really love these pots. Have gotten so much more healthier.
hi Andriea, i am considering purchasing. How have you liked your pot? i had an old crock pot with lots of cracks which i got rid of. i can’t think how much i’ve used it for making bone broths..all that slow simmering and possiblity of lead leaching. ugh. so now i’m consdiering your recommendation instead of getting another glazed/crockpot. do you use yours for making stock/bone broths?
You clearly don’t realize that bone broth is a significant source of lead by itself. This bone broth fad is so stupid. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
how is a long standing traditional practice a fad?
My great grandmother made her own chicken stock for soups and other dishes. How is that a fad?
I suppose that includes your post as well?
Bone broth is healthy if from grass fed cows.
I made my dog fresh bone broth to help her irritated intestinal tract. She had stopped eating but the. Bone broth brought her back to her food dish. From that time on, she had a cup of bone broth for lunch everyday”
So true. ALL animal products are harmful in so many ways. There is NO need for them in the human diet what so ever, it’s just a bunch of flesh/secretion industry propaganda & They ONLY do harm. See Dr. Greger on YouTube for bunches of well researched information to clearly PROVE this.
EH That was the belief at one time but it’s since been debunked. The lead content in bone broth is extremely low.
Justin Goldberg Sorry, no. Thanks to leaded gasoline, even OUR bones are contaminated with lead. Grass feed cows, too, because lead is in the soil. But it’s not at a concerning level.
Everyone SHOULD read MisLead’s info because the REAL danger from lead isn’t from bone broth – it’s EVERYWHERE, and it’s TOXIC. If you renovate, make sure your contractor follows lead containment and removal protocols.
I’ve read even the unglazed is an issue. All clay contains natural amounts of lead.
So does all salt, at minuscule amounts.
I have a crockpot that I stripped all the interior glaze from (accidentally) when I cleaned off the burned-on layer of food. Do you think that would remove the possibility of lead leaching into food, or would there be other nasty things things from the ceramic leaching in?
Hi Lorraine, I would suggest getting the testers to make sure… Hope this helps.
This perfectly addresses what has been swimming around my head about the leachable lead readings. We have to keep in mind certain foods at higher temps such as acidic sauces may produce a different result than a more benign food?
Yes, this it is true. My family regularly gets our hair analysis done for toxic metals. Since I have been regularly making bone broth in my slow cooker my lead levels have increased, so have my sons (which is heartbreaking as we have spent four years cleaning them out of him. So I would not trust any manufacturer claims, they will all go for the lowest possible denominator to get approval for their product. I am now checking out earthenware slow cookers too.
Connie
How do u detox heavy metals ( i assume u do as why to test hair then again & again,right?). I know about Cutler’s Protocol but it’snot for everyone due to epigenetics.
I love bone broth soups but i wonder if a simple lead test can show lead in it?
If u can suggest FB groups/ savvy ppl i would appreciate it.
T.Y.
Golda
I’ve decided I have time to worry about only so many things; lead in my crockpot doesn’t make the worry list. I’ve read stories of other bloggers who’ve tested their slow cookers and haven’t found lead either so I think we’re safe.
I think I have to agree with you. I’m just getting so exhausted. I have to start picking and choosing what to worry about.
You can always make a great broth in a stainless steel pot ( that a magnet sticks to) or glass.
Don’t fret. There’s always a solution for ease.
What does the magnet matter Esther? What does that tell us?
A magnet lets you confirm that the pot is really stainless steel. If the magnet sticks, it’s stainless steel. If it doesn’t, then it’s aluminum. But some pots have aluminum bottoms, so be sure to place the magnet *inside* the pot where the food touches, and where only stainless steel should be. If it sticks inside, you’ve got stainless!
Cheryl, Not sure where you got your info. As a machinist of metals, I can
assure you magnets do not stick to Stainless steel. There is a low grade of stainless that will hold a magnet, but it is compounded with various other
steels. Don:t know if I would use it.
Now there are concerns that stainless leaches nickel and chromium into food.
It may be exhausting, but my family’s worth it. I hope all of yours are, too.
So this sounds like a great idea…but when you click on the link to check them out, it clearly states that it only tests for lead on: painted wood, metal, vinyl & plastic, drywall & plaster. Nothing at all about ceramic, etc…?!
Hi JG, thanks for your comment. I’m not sure that ceramic would be any different to the rest of these surfaces in terms of lead testing,
Hamilton Beach is one brand that was found not to have lead. Cuisinart is another. That’s probably why it didn’t read. The actual “crock pot” brand is reported to have lead.
The problem here is not the lead that is going to rub away from the outer surface, but the chemically bound lead that will leach into the food. It is a chemical process where the lead used as part of the raw material (that is now bound chemically) reacts with the food being cooked and leaches into it, with heat acting as a catalyst. The only way to test the presence of lead here is to send the food to a lab for testing. Most cookware manufacturers have lead in them and if it was easy as lead rubbing off from the surface, then FDA would not have approved so many of them. So that’s really not the problem. The problem is with this other kind of lead that is harder to detect. I use MEC Pure-Clay cooking pots… they are just awesome. I’ve used them on my stove top and in my slow cooker. They have NO-lead or any other heavy metals; they are made from pure-mineral rich clay that is tested to ensure the raw material is indeed pure. Also, they’re made in the USA. You should check them out, I would highly recommend that be a part of every healthy kitchen. Just Google MEC pure-clay cooking pots to find them… thanks Andrea.
Hi Andrea,
May I know which slow cooker you are using with your MEC clay pots? And what is the size of your MEC clay pot?
I am planning to buy MEC clay pots for sure, now am search which slow cooker fits.
Hope you can help me.
Thanks.
Regards,
Joyce
Any luck finding which slow cooker fits with the MEC clay pot?
I talked with someone at MEC and they had a suggestion, because they were using customer testimonials for their information. the 360 slow cooker has a base that works with their Large size, and the Hamilton Beach 3 in 1 works with the Medium size. You can always call MEC and talk with a very helpful representative to make sure of this before your purchase though. I did and was thankful that I did.
Which slow cooker fits the clay pot??
A few years ago, I tested my Rival crock pot with a lead swab like the one you used, and it turned pink, as did all the little cracks in the ceramic pot itself! I threw it out immediately! I had read to first heat the crock pot to low, so that it was warm, before testing. That made sense to me since warming things up might enable any leaching, plus food sits in a heated crock for hours. I had read that Rival pots have lead (and that Hamilton Beach pots do not) and my Rival certainly did!
Wow thanks for this. I am going to do this today. I’ll report back.
The last slow cooker I bought has a glass type bowl that sits in the cooking base…. wonder if they are lead free???
I would be very interested to know the name/brand/model of the slow cooker that Ann found with a glass bowl – I would like to look into that more.
Also, I read that it is the acid in the food (such as anything tomato based) that might cause the leaching – so not sure this testing is convincing. Personally, I believe consumers need to pressure these manufacturers to bring their products back to the U.S. to be made and then expect solid, clear answers on materials used in their processing.
Cheers!
A few years ago I was given a new crock pot as a gift. The ceramic liner was forest green. I cooked a big batch of oatmeal in it overnight. the next morning there was green on top of the oatmeal. I did another batch, same thing. I threw it out. Didn’t even want to give it to Good Will.
Margarent Kline Too bad, you wasted all that oatmeal! Your crockpot was probably fine, too. Overnight oatmeal OFTEN turns green, but it’s NOT mold OR harmful.
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/what-causes-blue-green-foam-in-steel-cut-oats/
I just swabbed my Hamilton Beach crockpot, the test instructions only mentioned if the swab turns yellow, brown or black, no mention of red or pink in there being lead. My crock is warm with a batch of bone broth currently going in it…the swab turned a reddish pink much later than 30 seconds, closer to 60+ seconds.
From Hamilton Beach’s FAQ on their website:
Lead and cadmium are naturally occurring elements in the earth. As cooking vessels are earthenware cooking vessels, lead and cadmium may be naturally present. HBB cooking vessels are porcelain enamel coated to create a barrier between food and earthenware. The porcelain enamel coated cooking vessels are evaluated using ASTM extraction test procedures with detection limits of 0.1 ug/ml for lead and 0.01ug/ml for cadmium. In HBB cooking vessels, the amount of lead or cadmium present in the extractant is below the test’s limits of detection. Additionally, the factories that manufacture HBB cooking vessels are certified ceramic production facilities whose ceramic ware is deemed to satisfy FDA heavy metal requirements in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and China. HBB takes all reasonable steps to ensure that our cook vessels provide safe and satisfactory service to our consumers.
The bone broth will have lead in it, naturally occurring from the bone used. The ceramic used in a crock will provide a barrier between the naturally occurring lead in the clay vessel and the food. If the glaze is scratched or worn, try a slow cooker cooking liner.
I found this article:
http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/bid/89368/The-Hidden-Danger-in-Your-Slow-Cooker
And this comment:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2J5FQGSPG8CSM/#R2J5FQGSPG8CSM
I think it is concerning, particularly if you have young children (as I do)!
thank you for the info!!!!!!
I hear it is the CrockPot brand that has the lead.
After my first batch with a CrockPot brand slow cooker – I felt really sick – almost like the flu. Just overnite.
I eventually called the company – asked them about lead and told them how I felt sick.
They offered to pay for my medical bill…! Right away. No questions asked…
It had already been a few weeks + did not incur any expenses.
but still….
I read recently that the lead will leach from the slow cooker when HEATED. Was this tested when heated?
Hi Nat, no, it was not heated. If you test it while heated, let us know how it works out.
What about using a crock pot liner when you cook in one?
So instead of using a Crock pot that is leaching Lead your suggesting people use a Plastic Liner that leaches out all kinds of other Chemicals into the food that are no better for us than Lead. I’d like to find one of the Glass lined Slow cooker that was mentioned. I Love my slow cooker and now am not sure I want to use it for food. Maybe for Candle making instead!
When you use a crock pot, ANY crock pot, just use a glass/pyrex-type bowl inside the crock pot so that your food doesn’t touch the actual ceramic part, if you’re really worried that there’s an inordinate amount of leaching going on. Better yet, scrap the crock pot and do what I do: use a turkey roaster (with the removeable graniteware tub) and set your casserole dish inside. It’s like using an oven only you aren’t heating up the whole house during the summer months. I keep mine on the back deck near a plug-in and use it to bake angel food cakes and make casseroles and soups and pies and anything else you can think of – anything you can make on your stovetop or in your oven. My roaster is a Hamilton Beach 22 qt and they can be found in any hardware store or online. There are different sizes too, I think 18 qt, and there are different brand names like Nesco and Rival, etc. They are not much more expensive (unless you purchase the elite ones) than a crock pot, either. The beauty of doing it this way is that you can cook anything you want anytime you want, as long as it doesn’t rain. If you have a covered deck, you’re probably not even worried about rain.
Why cook foods for your family in a vessel you have to worry about, health-wise?? That doesn’t even make sense. Get a turkey roaster. Problem solved.
Unfortunately most glass (particularly if made in China) also has lead in it! I wouldn’t brew in glass unless it was made in the USA or Italy and I had verified it was lead free.
It does say to heat your crock pot to 80 degrees, which will then leach lead from the glaze!
You really should remove this article. In order to properly test ceramic you need to use an XRF, not the swabs that you used. The swabs are mainly for testing painted wood items, not things like ceramic. There is more information at http://www.tamararubin.com on the dangers of lead.
WHAT IF YOU USE A CROCKPOT LINER? WILL THAT WORK IN A RIVAL POT AND BE SAFE? ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THAT? I HAVE USED CROCKPOTS FOR YEARS. DIFFERENT BRANDS , SHAPES AND SIZES. LOVE THE WAY THEY COOK. FOOD IS ALWAYS DONE WELL AND TASTEY. RIGHT NOW I HAVE A RIVAL AND DON’T WANT TO TOSS IT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. OF COURSE, I DO WANT MY FOOD TO BE SAFE.
I found a replacement for people with ceramic or glass crockpot inserts
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/vitaclay-essenergy-6-cup-rice-n-slow-cooker/1016250040?skuId=16250040&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenelectrics_&adpos=1o4&creative=43742642989&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CJX1gsPAg8gCFYeEfgodX2wFNA
The VitaClay Essenergy 6-Cup Rice N’ Slow Cooker is made in China.
At risk of sounding like captain obvious, is this not the root of the problem? It is (or should be) assumed, expected, and understood that all things from china contain lead. I think the goal is to make sure your kitchen products (at least those that come in contact with food) do not come from china.
I bought a 7-quart Kitchen Living programmable slow cooker from Aldi three years ago, expressly for making bone broth. Until two weeks ago I had not seen the pot dry as I have kept back to back batches on bone broth working in it. Since I used it constantly some of those broths were in the pot for many days, either on constant heat or reheated daily. Two years ago I moved into a new house… actually a very old house (130+ years). About that time my health began to decline and has gone from bad to worse despite a diet more carefully clean and nutrient dense than average, plus a number of regular detox practices. I’ve puzzled over it, researched mold and anything else I could think of… to be honest, lead and the crockpot rumors I’ve heard did come to mind. Two weeks ago I was too ill to make a new batch of bone broth. For the first time the pot sat until dry. I had been having increasing kidney pain that did not respond to lemon or chanca piedra treatments for potential kidney stones. I decided to make a kidney bean tonic and, since it was empty, to use the slow cooker for the 6 hours cooking of the beans. I opened the lid and to my horror found that the entire inside of the pot’s glaze was thoroughly cracked. On researching online I found this article which precisely describes the illness that’s been an increasing plague to me these last two years… http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/mad-as-a-hatter/ I am currently awaiting the arrival of lead test swabs from MisLEAD, but based on the weight of the pot I’m expecting the worst. I’ve done more research and have found a protocol to use in detoxing the lead using ascorbic acid, garlic and several herbs, if anyone’s interested. (My ascorbic tolerance dose is, btw, 36 grams… way high and indicating significant illness.) It’s also been remarkable the information I’ve since found about toxins leaching even from stainless steel. And, yes, I HAVE considered that there are potentially toxic elements stored in the bones of animals (especially standard CAFO). Lead, partcularly, is stored in bones, where it takes up the same receptors as calcium. I’m in a quandry. Bone broth was the one thing that really, really helped my injured knee.
Kathryn… Thank you for relating your experience. I’m too lazy to make bone broth, so I’ve used unflavored gelatin for my joints; 2 tsp every night. It did wonders for my joints, nails, skin, and hair. I don’t know what the lead content is, if any, in this most famous gelatin brand. I buy it by the case online (in orange canisters), to enjoy the best prices. My health seems to be fine, so I don’t believe I suffer from any lead poisoning. We do use crockpots quite a bit now, and my partner is experiencing the beginnings of memory issues and mental confusion/fog. I’m going to try correcting our crockpots, in case that is his problem.
Try HA (hyaluronic acid) with MSM (the brand Now is good; I buy for my mother’s hip problem at swansonvitamins.com). It is as close to a miracle cure as you can get. It is the same substance that makes synovial fluid lubricate the joints.
So in a nutshell, what to use then?
My question exactly.
so can we make a bone broth (I use organic or grassfed bones) and other stuff in a regular stainless steel saucepan safely instead of a crock pot?
Yes, you can make bone broth in a stainless steel stock pot. A stock pot is better than a sauce pan because it can hold more liquid as well as the carcass.
Google whether cooking in stainless steel is safe and you’ll see that there are problems there too—leeching Of nickel and other stuff.
The definitive point for me is testing the final food prepared, and seeing the lab results whether the food contains lead or not.,
I believe the lead is emitted when the crockpot hits over 80 degrees. That is probably why you got a negative result. Try testing it when it is hot. You might get different results
What’s the opinion here on using plastic bags to prevent leeching of lead? I’ve searched high and low for crock pot cooking bags and haven’t found any that are supposed to be healthy.
PanSaver EZ Clean Multi-Use Cooking Bags Slow Cooker Liner
Made from canola oil. No plastic. For sale at amazon.
This is from Crock Pot (brand) online chat:
Jarden Consumer Solutions (JCS) continues to proactively test its products for lead and other toxic metals, with the results continuing to come back favorably. Lead is not an additive in the Crock Pot® slow cooker ceramic glaze. JCS is diligent in its efforts to ensure that its products are compliant with applicable regulations regarding the presence of lead.
Jarden Consumer Solutions (JCS), the distributor of [the product in question] is very focused on the materials that are used in the manufacture of its products. JCS goes to great lengths to ensure that its products meet or exceed all applicable laws and regulations as well as industry standards, such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Likewise, JCS is diligent in is efforts to ensure that its products are compliant with applicable regulations regarding the presence of lead
Just swab tested my crockpot brand crockpot purchased about 6 years ago. I cooked broth in it first. Wiped it out but didn’t wash it. Lead lead lead. I can’t believe I’ve been feeding this to my family. But I don’t think the lead would have shown up if I didn’t cook in it before the test.
Also. The test swabber didn’t show up red until I used the test confirrational card. The circle was red immediately and then the swab was red. Glad I “confirmed” with that card.
um… that means it tested negative. The test card will stain the end of the swab red.
Glad I stumbled across this post! As a casual slow cooker user I never realized that there was this level of concern regarding lead leaching from stoneware during cooking. The comments here are very interesting considering how knowledgeable and informed many of the commenters seem to be. I have to agree that if the heating process is a major factor or contributor to the leaching process that maybe all testing should be (carefully) done with a heated liner for more reliable results. If you have retested any of your own slow cookers using this method, maybe you could share it with readers in the comments section or even update your post with the more recent test results? It would be interesting.
Thanks again for this post. 🙂
I have heard that heating the ceramic is what leaches the lead. So testing the product ‘cold’ would not be adequate.
the 3m instant lead strips are good only on wood, painted walls, wood and metal. not indicated for ceramic testing.\
does anyone have a test kit for ceramic liners on crock pots?
What about those cooking bags that they sell for Crock Pots? Wouldn’t they solve the problem of lead leaching?
Hi Vippy, assuming you are using BPA-free cooking bags this could potentially help with lead leaching, although BPA-free does still leach some chemicals and so you’d need to research this to decide if it is worth the risk. I hope this helps. xoxo Emily
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