I think that by now we can all agree that lead exposure is a serious problem with significant health implications. In fact, you may simply take it for granted that lead is a toxic substance that is closely monitored and has mostly been eliminated as a health risk. However, that’s not the case. Because lead is easy to work with, reusable, and weather resistant, it has been mined and used by humans for more than 8,000 years, opens in a new tab, and is now the most widely distributed toxic metal on the planet. Let’s look at ways that you can decrease (or hopefully eliminate) your family’s exposure to lead in your kitchen.
The History of Lead
Ancient Rome has become notorious for its use of lead, and in fact, the resultant impact on the population’s health may have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Lead was used for cooking vessels and utensils, water pipes, and even wine urns, and as a result, massive quantities of lead leached into the food and drink of the Romans. Some Romans may have ingested up to 250 mg of lead a day, opens in a new tab! (by comparison, in the 1980’s the average US daily intake was 0.3 mg). Lead continued to be used as a sweetener for wine as late as the 18th century, and was an additive in paint and ceramics well into the 20th century. Even today, water pipes in communities such as Flint, Michigan, have contaminated the city’s water supply with high levels of lead, causing serious health problems for the inhabitants, especially children.
Health Effects of Lead
When exposed to high levels in their food and water, lead can seriously affect children’s development and cause health issues in adults. Children suffering from lead poisoning, opens in a new tab may experience anything from learning difficulties to seizures. Adults are less likely to have as extreme outcomes, but may develop chronic headaches, joint pain, or reproductive issues, including low sperm count and an increased risk of miscarriage.
Where Lead Lurks in the Modern Kitchen, and How to Avoid It
Water
It’s a good idea to test your tap water for lead levels. The water coming out of your kitchen tap could have been contaminated with lead as it ran through the pipes to the faucet. Houses built before 1930 may well have lead pipes, and even new houses could have fittings containing lead which can leach into your drinking and cooking water supply. You can’t trust your municipal system to provide water free of lead, either.
In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that children should not consume water with more than 1 part per billion (ppb) of lead. Despite this, the current allowable limit for bottled water is 5 ppb, and 15 ppb for tap water. Across the United States, testing of community water supplies, opens in a new tab in the last 5 years has revealed that 81% of the American population is served by community water systems that exceed the 1 ppb limit.
If you find lead in your drinking water, there are effective ways to remove it. Both pitcher and faucet-mount filters, opens in a new tab can eliminate lead in most cases. For really high lead levels, a reverse-osmosis system is recommended. Just be sure to replace filters as required to keep removing lead from your water. Always start with cold water for cooking, as well as drinking, since water heaters may have some components containing lead, and heat leaches higher amounts of lead than cold water.
Food
You may be surprised to learn that some items on your kitchen shelves may contain significant amounts of lead. Certain spices are especially likely to have dangerously high lead levels. For example, some brands of cinnamon could contain up to 3.52 parts per million, opens in a new tab (ppm), although anything above 1 ppm is dangerous enough to be recalled in New York State, where heavy metals in spices are regulated. Turmeric, cloves, and chili powder are other spices that often have elevated levels of lead. In some cases, the spices are contaminated during the processing stage, but the lead may actually be taken up from the soil as the trees or plants grow.
Do your research before buying spices. Sites such as Consumer Reports, opens in a new tab conduct product testing to steer you towards the safest options. Don’t buy spices in bulk, and look for ones packaged in the United States, but be aware that the FDA has no limit for lead in spices, and not all spices are tested.
Cookware
Because lead is more likely to leach into food when heat is involved, cooking vessels and utensils are an area of particular concern. Uncoated aluminum, for instance, may leach lead into food, and in fact, the FDA issued a recall in 2025 of more than a dozen aluminum and brass pots and pans that were found to leach significant levels of lead when used to cook food.
Nonstick brands claim to be free of any toxic chemicals like microplastics or metals, including lead, but that’s not necessarily the case. For instance, Lead Safe Mama, aka Tamara Rubin, conducted tests on Caraway cookware that detected 6 toxic metals and chemicals, including lead. While such brands may have a coating over the aluminum base, once that “ceramic” (actually a softer substance than real ceramic) layer starts to wear away under normal use, the aluminum, along with any toxins that it contains, can then leach into the food.
The good news is that it’s not necessary to tolerate the risk of lead contamination from your cookware. Lead Safe Mama has also tested samples of 360 Cookware’s Cookie Sheets, opens in a new tab, Saucepans, opens in a new tab, and Slow Cookers, opens in a new tab, and found no lead at all! While 360 Cookware does have an inner layer of aluminum for superior heat conductivity, it’s completely sealed within a cooking surface and outside layer of surgical-grade stainless steel.
360 Cookware’s Slow Cooker is especially notable because, except for a very low level of lead in the heating elements, which have no contact with food, no lead was detected. This is in contrast to other brands, some of which even have unacceptably high levels of lead in food contact surfaces such as interior vents and ceramic liners. And 360 Cookware is committed to lowering those already small amounts of lead even further in the future.
Conclusion
Lead is a dangerous heavy metal that can seriously affect the health of your family, especially young children. While you cannot eliminate all sources of lead in the environment, you can take control of the water your family drinks, the food they consume, and the cookware you use to prepare their meals. Give yourself the peace of mind by investing in the well-being of your family by reducing their exposure to lead.
