Dish Up Some Local Dinnerware

How well do you know your kitchen? We’re all concerned with eating local food these days, but what are we serving our food on? Bob and I visited a local department store last week, and found that 95% of the dinnerware, pots and bake ware offered for sale were made in China. If your dinnerware was made overseas, it’s important to know whether the manufacturer has complied with U.S. federal lead standards and that your dishes are lead-free. Lead poisoning can cause severe neurological and cardiovascular problems – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning for a complete explanation.

We decided to remove all doubt about our dinnerware and treated ourselves to an early anniversary gift – a complete set of Homer Laughlin China Company Fiesta Ware. We also felt it was very economically priced for a USA made product. Homer Laughlin was started by two brothers, Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin, in East Liverpool Ohio in 1871. The company’s history is on their web site at http://www.hlchina.com/company.htm. It’s an interesting read and a testimony to the company’s ability to remain competitive and successful through war, economic downturns and foreign competition. In the early eighties, as the country became more environmentally conscientious, the company began to produce lead-free china. They used lead-free glazes and a vitrified china body – which means to change or make into glass or a glassy substance, especially through heat fusion. Today, the company pledges to continue to provide quality, American-made china and jobs for potters of the Ohio Valley.

If you are interested in learning more about your dinner plates, The Environmental Defense Fund presents a “Dish Buyers Guide” which lets the consumer know what they can be sure of. Here’s a link to the guide: http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentid=957 and here’s an excerpt:

Glass dishes have no glaze on them. Glass plates, cups, mugs, etc., without painted or decal-type decorations on their surface, are reliably lead-free. (NOTE: This is not true of leaded crystal, which is heavy and expensive and almost never used for ordinary plates, cups and mugs.)

Stoneware dishes - which are fairly heavy and often have a low shine instead of a bright, full gloss like glazed china - are normally coated with a material that contains no lead. Unless they have painted or decal-type decorations on the surface, stoneware pieces are almost as lead-free as glass.

Lead-free china looks just like other china but is made with lead-free glazes and pigments is sold by some companies.

In many cases you can ask the manufacturers yourself about lead in their china. The companies listed below provided have phone numbers for information about lead levels in specific patterns.

Annieglass - (888) 761-0050
Corning - (800) 999-3436
Dansk - (800) BY-DANSK
Dudson Group (USA) - (919) 877-0200
Homer Laughlin - (800) 452-4462
Lenox - (800) 635-3669
Mikasa - (866) MIKASA1
Pfaltzgraff - (800) 999-2811
Pickard - (847) 395-3800
Portmeirion - (203) 729-8255
Royal Doulton - (800) 682-4462
Spode - (800) 257-7189
Vietri - (800) 277-5933
Villeroy & Boch - (800) 223-1762
Waterford / Wedgwood - (800) 955-1550
Source: www.edf.org

I also came across this web site which is a good reference for USA made products. I can’t vouch for the integrity of each company on this list, but it will give you (and us) a starting point to do your own research. Here’s the link: http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/kitchen.html.

Bob and I are very happy with our Fiesta Ware purchase! The colors are wonderful, the dishes are extremely well made and we have the added satisfaction of knowing where and how they were manufactured. It’s a great start to knowing our kitchen better!