It would give me pause, hondagirl. We have eaten off of Mikasa English Countryside for years. Where did you find the warning?

Linen and Things

http://www.lnt.com/sm-mikasa-antique-white-45-piece-dinnerware-set--pi-2428844.html

Lead is a dangerous poison. I would not dream of buying the dishes and using them if they contain lead. :(

As a special education teacher, I have worked with many children who have been severely affected from exposure to lead. Very little exposure can cause great harm to young nervous systems. If you have kids, plan on having kids or even might have some visit someday - I'd pick another pattern. IMO lead poisoning regulations do not begin to be strict enough to protect our kids. I am typically not an alarmist...

I have Mikasa Italian Countryside and I just checked it with a Lead Check Swab and it was negative. You can buy them at Home Depot.

That's a personal choice. I am sure if it concerns you, you should not buy it. Having said that, most dishes and glasses that were used (and paint) when my generation was growing up, contained lead. I wonder if I could get through a metal detector. I must be loaded with it after all these years but, yes, my wine still tastes better from lead crystal than paper cups. It's too late for me. Take care of yourself and your children.

Well, this concerns me as my bro and SIL have these dishes and use them everyday for their family.

I went to the Mikasa website and see no such warning, so I emailed their customer service department. I will let you all know what they reply. Here is what I wrote:

While browsing Mikasa Antique White Dinnerware at the Linens and Things website, http://www.lnt.com/sm-mikasa-antique-white-45-piece-dinnerware-set--pi-2428844.html, I found the following warning that the dishes contain Lead:

WARNING: This Item Contains Lead. Consuming foods or beverages that have been kept or served in leaded serveware exposes you to lead, a chemical known in the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Could you please comment on this warning?? Does the Antique White Dinnerware contain lead?

Hondagirl, I think the key word in the warning is *California*. California is known to have stricter enviromental controls and consumer protection mandates than the rest of the other states on just about everything. The FDA sets standards for lead levels in consumer products sold in the US. California has stricter levels in fact I believe they have a zero tolerance regulation. Proposition 65 CA requires warning labels on dinnerware that does not meet the CA stricter standards. The plates will still meet FDA standards and can be sold without warning labels elsewhere.

Due to this quirk of differing legislation in different states some manufacturers will adhere to California's stricter guidelines to give products a greater distribution with less hassle. This can happen with products sold internationally to. For instance, IKEA manufactures all their products to conform to standards and regulations of all countries.

Or, a manufacturer will make something that does not meet certain guidlines and be forbidden to ship to certain states or voluntarily withold shipping to them or place warning labels on them.

In the US earthenware products containing higher amounts of lead than the FDA allows will be labeled as such, and proclaimed "For Decorative Use Only". They can still be sold.

Your profile says you reside in Canada. Do you know what the regulations on lead are in Canada? There may be high lead in a lot of dinnerware sold in Canada and it is not marked as such.

In a nutshell:

"To pass today's FDA standard, small holloware (dishes and bowls with a capacity of less than 1.1 liters -- or 1.166 quarts -- and a depth of 1 inch or greater) can leach no more than 2 parts per million of lead and 0.5 parts per million of cadmium. Large holloware pieces (with a capacity of 1.1 liter -- or 1.166 quarts -- or more) can leach no more than 1 part per million of lead and 0.25 parts per million of cadmium. Flatware (plates) can leach no more than 3 parts per million of lead and 0.5 parts per million of cadmium. The FDA leachable lead limit for cups, mugs, tumblers and pitchers is 0.5 parts per million.

California has more rigorous leachable limits (set in 1993 by Proposition 65), which has reduced the tolerance for leachable lead and cadmium in dinnerware to even smaller amounts -- 0.10 parts per million of leaching lead for small and large holloware pieces as well as cups, mugs and pitchers. For plates, the leachable lead limit is 0.226 parts per million. The leachable limit for cadmium is 1.85 parts per million for flatware (plates); 0.188 parts per million for small holloware and 0.049 parts per million for large holloware pieces."

Keep in mind that the FDA test for leachable lead amounts while the EPA tests are for the the lead content. If a dinnerware piece has been fired correctly at high temperatures there should not be any noticable lead leaching. If the dinnerware is not used to store acidic foods there should be not problem.

Here is a list of California Approved low lead level dinnerware manufacturers:

http://www.edf.org/documents/994_LeadChina4.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: List of California Acceptable Dinnerware Manufacturers

Thanks Dilly--our state labling laws are so weird. I wouldn't worry about these dishes for a moment.

I personally think that stricter labeling laws are not a bad thing. We use glass dishes for everyday and and our good china is bone china. I have a set of Waterford Lismore, which I keep in the china cabinet. It catches the light and looks lovely :)

I hate to tell you this but your Waterford Lismore is thirty percent LEAD.

Lead was commonly used on older bone china too.

Even your everyday glass dishes may contain lead and will most certainly contain aluminum.

Alas, nothing is completely safe. Plastics that we once never gave a thought to using now aren't to be used for hot foods and some plastics aren't to be used for baby bottles anymore.

Aluminum pots and pans are considered dangerous and I grew up eating food cooked and stored in them.

Interesting tidbit..........Ever wondered how bone china got its name? It was Josiah Spode II who created bone china. Bone china contains 50% animal bone. ThatÂs ordinary animal bone, delivered bloody and stinky from the local butchers. The bones were scrubbed to remove rotten flesh and maggots. The worst smell at the china factory was the stench from the animal bones which had to be burnt to make bone china.