Lead free / Cadmium free slow cookers
Created June 15, 2011 at 8:02 PM
Hey all -
I've seen this topic a few times on PH and looked into some of the answers given. I don't think there was too much of a response. Has anyone stumbled across a good option recently? Lookin to buy one in the near future.
Looking for one that's guaranteed to be lead / cadmium free
Thanks
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12 Answers
best answer
Amazon sells the Sunpentown SC-5355 slow cooker with CLAY insert. Best damn slow cooker I've ever owned.
Cheers, thanks Pelt.
I just received the SPT-5355 today :)
Can't answer your question but this might be helpful The skinny on lead in slow cookers
Thanks, that's reassuring.
Great Link! "The results absolutely caught me off guard. Not one of the crock pots we tested had any lead in it at all. We tested each crock pot twice and threw a couple of red herrings (a dish made in China and some tiles from Italy that the WeeCycle staff keep in the office because they know they have lead in them) just to make sure that the XRF [Lead Testing Gun] was working correctly." Love that this lady just did the testing!
As long as the crock isn't red, yellow or orange I wouldn't worry about lead. It is a OHSA regulatory nightmare so I would assume that most american made crock pots, which seems to include most Crock-Pots, would be lead free. I wouldn't worry about it that case even if it was a suspect color.
If you want to be really sure you can always buy a home test kit for about $12 to swab the outside here is a consumer reports rundown of some options.
There are also cadmium test kits but I couldn't find any regulatory standards for these, thus they are probably more of a buyer beware sort of situation
Well it appears that most all modern slow cookers are heavy-metal-free, now I wonder about my circa-1972 Crock Pot. Probably not, but it's too retro to toss!
Cuisinart slow cookers are lead free according to this discussion (see the posts by Alicia in particular): http://insightfulnana.com/home-garden/housekeeping-home-garden/lead-poisoning-and-crock-pots/html
It's my understanding they do
Majority do not have lead or cadmium. Regulations are pretty strict.
Crocks made from pure-clay (not ceramic or porcelain) might be the best ones to buy. That’s mineral rich earth. But off course many manufacturers might add other ingredients in the process of making like lead frits or crystal lead etc. Make sure it is still pure-clay and nothing else by the time it’s done being made. And by the way, you cannot test for the presence of lead by rubbing test strips, lead if present in the pot, gets into food by a chemical reaction (metal reacting to food and leaching in) and cannot be detected by just rubbing a piece of paper. To test the right way: boil water and add baking soda (highly alkaline) and continue boiling for 15 mins. Let water cool down. Send it to any local water testing labs. it might cost a few but it’s worth doing. Or if you're like me just get one from a company that can guarantee LEAD and CADMIUM free. I got mine from MEC, they make some excellent crock and they're guaranteed to be lead and cadmium free. They're made in USA, and I use them on the stove top and oven too.
Stanley
Instant Pot IP-LUX60 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker Combo slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, with stainless steel inner pot, the pot the food goes in!!
For those of you who have the Sunpentown, do you find that it cooks too high on the low setting? That's what one reviewer said on Amazon and that half the water of her stock was gone shortly.
Thanks, ~k
I have the Sunpentown slow cooker like the other guy mentioned and it works great! I also bought it from Amazon.
I just received the SPT-5355 today :)
Hrm, as a side note, I use the plastic slow cooker bags. Simply because I hate trying to clean up the crock pot inserts. I'm assuming that would help prevent any possible lead leeching (say due to food acidity).
Are the plastic bags BPA free?
I avoid heating anything plastic
What on earth is up with the user name above? Please keep the bigoted language off this lovely site.
I use silicon liners. The flat cookie-sheet type ones. It's a nice plastic-free way to avoid mess.
I'm interested as well...seems to be a difficult thing to find??
Jenny_9
(11577)
on March 24, 2012
at 11:14 PM
I use silicon liners. The flat cookie-sheet type ones. It's a nice plastic-free way to avoid mess.
Jenny_9
(11577)
on March 24, 2012
at 11:13 PM
Majority do not have lead or cadmium. Regulations are pretty strict.
syrahna
(2417)
on March 24, 2012
at 07:21 PM
What on earth is up with the user name above? Please keep the bigoted language off this lovely site.
Todd
(5838)
on June 22, 2011
at 10:29 PM
I just received the SPT-5355 today :)
Todd
(5838)
on June 22, 2011
at 10:29 PM
I just received the SPT-5355 today :)
Todd
(5838)
on June 16, 2011
at 05:26 PM
I avoid heating anything plastic
paleohacks
(78467)
on June 16, 2011
at 03:56 PM
Are the plastic bags BPA free?
Todd
(5838)
on June 15, 2011
at 10:11 PM
Cheers, thanks Pelt.
Todd
(5838)
on June 15, 2011
at 08:57 PM
Thanks, that's reassuring.
Vrimj
(6235)
on June 15, 2011
at 08:55 PM
Great Link! "The results absolutely caught me off guard. Not one of the crock pots we tested had any lead in it at all. We tested each crock pot twice and threw a couple of red herrings (a dish made in China and some tiles from Italy that the WeeCycle staff keep in the office because they know they have lead in them) just to make sure that the XRF [Lead Testing Gun] was working correctly." Love that this lady just did the testing!
Todd
(5838)
on June 15, 2011
at 08:45 PM
It's my understanding they do