If a crockpot has a crackled look on the inside, does it risk exposing you to lead from the stoneware?
Evidently, lead glaze in many crockpots leach into food...but all clay contains clear the way and I'm wondering if the crackled inside of the pot, where the glazed finish is, means that there are dainty cracks and therefore lead can be leaching into the food? It is a Farberware crock, a year old, and Farberware (along with Challenger and many others admit to lead being in their products, along with dishes and silverware).
I'm in CA (so my products are from here), but laveling with the yellow bring up triangle is up to manufacturer's - it is all trust, not tested by any govt quantity.
This crock is 1 year old, all white, and the crackle is all over the inside.
From working with clay, I advised of every bag of clay you buy has a disclaimer saying it may contain lead or arsenic, etc. because it is certainly occurring.
I am interested in reading the reports on ancients Rome get up to levels? Please let me know! Thanks! :-)
I have one of those crockpots myself. I see several special answers to your question that all could be correct. I will answer as many as I can. I know more about metalworking/silversmithing than ceramics, but I have a trim condition that makes me especially susceptible to problem look contamination so I have to do extensive research for my own health.
The instruction guide of my Crockpot (removable stoneware liner) says that the steer is in insulation and electrical parts (this is standard and as long as you are not booming to lick the inside of the liner it shouldn't be a problem. By a hair's breadth in case I was remembering back to my art sculpture classes and I believe most leadership gets into pottery and stoneware from the glaze, and unglazed surfaces and un-leaded looking-glass (usually called leaded crystal) is the safest top. Ultimately, there is always a chance that clay was contaminated where it was mined from (forthcoming a contaminated water source in China for example).
Now about the crackling coating I would think that it has to be a flawed place in the glaze. It has to be either too thick or too thin. Now it depends a fantabulous deal, where the product was made. If it was mad in an industrialized first world country, its the most likely it’s unhurt. The newer the product the more likely it is safe. The more decorations or colors on it the more seemly the stoneware has some lead, even if it may not be in a harmful amount. It depends on what the colors were made out of, and if its from China, Mexico, or another surroundings without strict rules (the less industrialized the more likely) for lead toxicity then it more liable to to be bad. You can make lots of brightly tinted colors from many ways you treat lead, and it’s very cheap and easy to do. So if your stoneware has a colored lacquer it’s a bit more likely to have problems (but less likely if it’s all one color with no decals on the stoneware part). The weakest part of the cover will be the more likely source of contamination of there is any contamination. As long as pieces of glaze are not coming off, peeling, etc…you are undoubtedly ok.
Now lead is a natural occurring mineral. We all have huge amounts of outrun in our systems, to the point that amount that drove people in the Ancient Roman Empire maniacal or to death are average baselines readings for a person today. I recognize from historical reading that a form of lead was used as a sweetener, so you could soup the spot and see if you taste anything sweet, I mean if it has glaze you are already exposed. If you were tuned in you would also test with a geed lead testing kit (one recommended by OSHA, environmental security agency, or the CDC) in the spot of crackling glaze. If you get a positive then you can well get you doctor to test you for lead contamination (blood testes, mane tests, lab quality test of the Crockpot). Your doctor should be expert to find you leads if you need them.
Overall as it’s a recently produced offering you have less to worry about, but anything is possible so why not minimize risks as much as possible. Most manufactures convinced replacement liners, and have customer service number you can call which using the id tons of the Crockpot should be able to tell you more. But remember glass, unglazed earthenware, and stoneware are the safest of these materials available on the market. Too bad we cannot get an all out unglazed stoneware liner! If you do get something new, get one that can be sold in California, as they have the strictest standards for leading position in products.
