Sources
Where this site says anything about lead, cadmium, or what a knock does to a fired body, it quotes a national body rather than itself. We opened and read each page below on the date next to it, and wrote the sentence on our page afterwards to fit what the source says.
Pages we read
| Page | Published by | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Questions and Answers on Lead-Glazed Traditional Pottery The page carries its own currency date of 27 October 2017. | U.S. Food and Drug Administration | 14 August 2026 |
| The safe use of cookware and bakeware | Health Canada | 14 August 2026 |
| Basic care — Glass and ceramic objects | Canadian Conservation Institute | 14 August 2026 |
This is general information about tableware, not medical advice. If you are worried about a specific piece you already own, the sources below explain what the testing kits do and what a warning label looks like.
What we quote from them
Glazing applies and fuses a thin, glass-like coating onto the surface of the clay to seal its pores.
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
When the pottery is fired at the proper temperature for the proper amount of time, essentially all the lead is bound into the glaze.
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Pottery not listed above that was made in commercial factories for everyday use is much less likely to have problems related to lead.
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Be aware that no amount of washing, boiling, or other process can remove lead from pottery.
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Ceramic, enamel or glass cookware can cause health concerns when the pigments used in making, glazing or decorating the cookware contain lead or cadmium.
Health Canada
Ceramic (pottery), enamel or glass cookware is easily cleaned and can be heated to fairly high temperatures.
Health Canada
A gentle tap with a fingernail should make a “ping” sound; a dull-sounding tap is an indication of a crack or fracture that may not be obvious to the naked eye.
the Canadian Conservation Institute
When stacking glass or ceramic items for storage, place a cushion of soft material between each piece.
the Canadian Conservation Institute
Do not store or display ceramics or glass where there are extreme or rapid changes in temperature and humidity.
the Canadian Conservation Institute
Editorial practice
We write the names on this site ourselves. We build a product name here from what the piece is, how much it holds, how many come in the box and what colour the glaze is, in that order, and we keep it short enough to read on a shelf label. That is a deliberate break from the hundred and fifty character strings this kind of product usually carries.
Facts on a product page come from what the piece states about itself. If a capacity is not stated, the page does not carry one, and no page invents a measurement to look complete. Dimensions are a good example: where the stated figures were plainly a placeholder, we dropped them instead of printing them.
Where a subject touches health, we quote a national body and print the date we read it. Where we have nothing to quote and nothing to measure, we say so.