An Unwanted Sovenir LEAD in Ceramic Ware                           
by Dale Blumenthal 

Members of a Westchester County, N.Y., family were falling ill and they 
couldn't figure out why.  Marco Tulio Rey, 67 years old, went to see his
doctor about his stomach pains.  At first the doctor thought it might be
stomach cancer, but was troubled by the patient's other symptoms, such as 
severe anemia.  The doctor ordered a blood level test.  When it showed an 
abnormally high level of lead, Rey was treated for lead poisoning.  He
recovered after two weeks of hospitalization. 

At the same time Rey was falling ill, other members of the family felt
increasing fatigue and dizziness.  When Rey was diagnosed, public health
officials suspected that ailing relatives might be suffering from the same
malady.  Tests showed that six family members had seriously high blood lead 
levels.  Fortunately, only one required hospitalization.

While the family was recovering, a Westchester County public health worker
visited the Rey home and discovered the culprit:  a brown jug that a friend 
had purchased in Mexico and given them as a gift.  The family used it to
store a fermented sugar and bean drink.  The public health worker could see 
the glaze inside the jug was corroded and the jug was lined with a powder 
residue that may well have contained a high lead content. 

Most glazes for ceramic products contain lead but are safe because they have
been properly formulated and fired to prevent the release of toxic amounts
of metal into foods.  However, some pottery, especially earthenware made by 
individuals and in small cottage industries abroad, have not been treated 
properly.  In these pieces, acid substances may interact chemically with the
glaze and accelerate the lead release.  Therefore, acidic foods (such as
orange, tomato and other fruit juices, tomato sauces, wines, and vinegar) 
stored in improperly glazed containers are potentially the most dangerous.
In the 1987 case of the brown jug from Mexico, says Frederick Morrisey, a 
program coordinator at the Westchester County Department of Health, the 
acidic nature of the bean drink gradually ate away at the glaze.

Alert for Tourists

Every year, millions of Americans travel to Mexico and other countries, 
bringing back ceramic products for themselves and their friends.  Too often,
the ceramic products tourists buy from local vendors in foreign countries 
don't meet U.S. standards.

"What tourists bring home from Mexico is of special concern," says Edward A.
Steele, acting director, executive operations staff, of the Food and Drug 
Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.  "The United 
States imports relatively few commercial shipments of ceramic ware from that
country, yet Mexican ceramic ware increasingly is making its way across the 
border and into U.S. homes."  Steele points out that while these pieces are 
often colorful, they may fall short of U.S. safety standards. 

The Mexican government has been working with the United States, but so far
the two countries have not been able to come up with a plan for effectively 
monitoring every individual who sells wares on the street.

Other countries are also of concern.  During a recent trip to Spain, Steele 
verified his suspicion that local vendors don't always meet U.S. standards
for lead-glazed products. 

The problem for travelers is that there is no way to tell merely by looking 
at a ceramic piece whether it will leach dangerous amounts of lead.  Because
of his profession, Steele may be more aware of such problems than most
people.  So, when he traveled to Spain, he brought with him two test kits 
commercially available by mail order and in some drugstores around the
country.

Steele says that many ceramic products he found at roadside stands and local
shops would dangerously violate the American standard.  For instance, Steele
asked the saleswoman in the little shop next to his hotel if she knew 
whether the dishware she was selling could leach a dangerous amount of
lead.  She proudly replied that the owner had told her everything in the
store was safe.  However, when Steele tested a small fruit dish he purchased
at the shop, he found it leached 25.5 parts per million (ppm) of lead.  The 
U.S. legal limit for a small dish is 5 ppm. 

Military personnel and others stationed abroad also are at high risk for
lead poisoning.  Often, says Steele, U.S. citizens who move to foreign
countries will purchase an entire set of dinnerware for use.  Often this
dinnerware does not meet U.S. standards for lead. 

Such was the case with Donald and Frances Wallace.  While stationed in
Italy, they bought new household items, including a pair of terra cotta 
coffee mugs.  They each drank 8 to 10 cups of coffee a day from their mugs, 
and after three years it nearly killed them.

The symptoms of lead poisoning are insidious and often misdiagnosed.  Mr. 
Wallace underwent two operations for carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful wrist
disorder that he, in fact, didn't have.  Mrs. Wallace's doctors thought she 
was suffering from porphyria, a rare, incurable metabolic disorder.  Her
body ached; she was dehydrated and anemic.  To regain strength, Mrs. Wallace
drank bouillon and juice daily from her terra cotta mug.

On his own, Mr. Wallace researched their conditions and learned that lead 
poisoning caused many of the symptoms that continued to weaken them.  He
insisted that his doctor measure their blood lead levels.  The tests
confirmed that the Wallaces were victims of acute lead poisoning. 

FDA Inspections 

Although ceramic products purchased from vendors in foreign countries remain
the chief concern, FDA is looking to a quick color test developed by FDA
chemists John Gould and Stephen Capar to step up inspection of imports. 
This test can determine--within 30 minutes--whether a ceramic product 
leaches excessive amounts of lead.  As this article goes to press, the
patent is pending for the FDA quick color test. 

Steele notes that FDA is working towards putting this or a similar test "in 
the hands of import inspectors, who will be able to initially screen ceramic
products for lead at ports of entry."  Now inspectors must send all suspect 
pottery to the district offices for a time-consuming laboratory analysis. 
The test also will be made available to the general public. 

FDA testing of foreign and domestic dinnerware is a cumbersome and
resource-draining process.  Steele acknowledges that FDA just can't check 
everything.  (See "Pretty Poison:  Lead and Ceramic Ware," in the 
July-August 1987 FDA Consumer.)  In 1986 alone, 873 million ceramic pieces
came into the United States in 46,000 shipments from 80 different 
countries.

FDA field officers conducted a survey from November 1986 to October 1987 to 
look at the lead levels in pottery sold in shops across the country.  Half
the pottery samples they collected were made in United States' factories, 
and half were imported from foreign countries. However, all of the 4.4
percent of the products with violative lead levels were from foreign
producers.

In a different activity, FDA contracted with the states of Colorado and New 
Mexico to test Mexican ceramic products sold at small retail outlets in 
those states.  FDA inspectors focus their efforts on large entries and often
do not sample small batches of imports.  The Colorado and New Mexico
chemists chose pieces that had fallen through the cracks of FDA inspections 
and found an alarmingly high violation rate.  Of the 123 imported samples 
tested in Colorado, 19--or 15 percent--were violative.  Of the 68 samples of
ceramic products tested in New Mexico, 14--or 21 percent--contained lead
levels above the FDA standards.  One bowl, analyzed in Colorado, leached
8,000 ppm of lead.

Each country presents a different picture, and FDA has concentrated testing 
programs on products from countries with histories of violations. 
Fortunately, there are countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom that
have good quality control procedures, similar to those in the United States.

The People's Republic of China and FDA entered into an agreement in 1988 to 
ensure that ceramic products shipped to the United States would be inspected
for safety.  FDA now is working on similar agreements with other countries, 
such as Italy, Spain and Hong Kong. 

FDA Proposal

FDA began setting lead limits for ceramic and other products after a
California family in 1969 suffered acute lead poisoning from drinking orange
juice stored in a pitcher bought in Mexico.  To deal with lead in ceramic 
products, FDA in 1971 established what are known as "action levels."  These 
levels provided guidance to FDA investigators on taking enforcement action, 
such as working with U.S. companies to recall domestic wares or detaining 
foreign shipments at ports of entry.

As toxicology research has demonstrated that exposure to smaller amounts of 
lead may be hazardous, FDA has tightened its restrictions on the amount of
lead that products may leach.  In June 1989, the agency proposed lowering 
the allowable limit for pitchers of all sizes (except creamers) to 0.1 ppm
of an acidic test solution. 

Currently, pitchers are allowed to leach 2.5 to 5.0 ppm.  The lower figure
is for pitchers greater than 1.1 liters, the higher for pitchers smaller
than 1.1 liters.  For plates and saucers, the level of lead that can leach
into food over a 24-hour period cannot exceed 7 ppm.

FDA's Gould emphasizes that glazes on frequently used ceramic products, such
as pitchers or coffee cups, are of most concern from a health standpoint. 
He particularly cautions consumers to avoid storing acidic foods and
beverages in these items. 

The new proposal also would require that decorative ceramics that release 
high levels of lead have fired into them the permanent, conspicuous warning 
"Not for Food Use--May Poison Food" or have holes to ensure they aren't used
for food.  Some decorative items (like commemorative plates) have stickers
warning that the piece has a high lead content and may be dangerous for food
use.  However, these stickers can fall off or be removed, so that original
owners may forget the warning and future owners may never see it. 

Partnership with Consumers

Stepped-up inspection efforts and proposals to lower the allowable lead 
content are two ways to limit the danger of lead in ceramic products.  But, 
the most uncontrollable problem remains the availability of products that 
are beyond FDA inspection authority.

In response to a request from FDA, the U.S. Customs Service has included a
statement in its booklet for travelers, "Know Before You Go," warning that
"Some ceramic tableware sold abroad contains dangerous levels of lead in the
glaze which may be extracted by acid foods and beverages.  The Food and Drug
Administration recommends that ceramic tableware, especially when purchased 
in Mexico, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, or India be tested for
lead release by a commercial laboratory on your return or be used for 
decorative purposes only."

The U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense also are working 
with FDA to alert tourists and U.S. citizens stationed abroad to the
potential dangers of lead in ceramic products.  The State Department issues 
a series of booklets on "Tips for Travelers" that discuss this problem, and 
a recent brochure on tips for Americans visiting the People's Republic of 
China includes a warning that dinnerware for sale in the country is not 
tested for lead and may cause lead contamination in food.  Both these 
booklets are part of the government's attempts to get the message out about 
the dangers of lead in ceramic products.

"We must be extremely cautious when purchasing ceramic ware in foreign
countries," says FDA Commissioner Frank E. Young, M.D., Ph.D.  He adds, 
"regardless of how many resources we throw at this problem, it's going to 
take a partnership with consumers." 

Dale Blumenthal is a member of FDA's public affairs staff.