Document zQ5KXMjMLyd6gD8R2gBoGbLqg

December IO, 1960 Miss Erma A. Hinek Consumers Research Ine. Washington, New Jersey Dear Miss Hinek: I hadn't time to write to you further on receipt of your letter of November 18th, but I laid it aside to remind me to write when I could find time. Two points in your letter seemed to invite comment, the one concerning other products of Laurel Potteries than the yellow ware with a mat finish which we have tested; the other has to do with the subject of lead glazes in general, the use of which seemed surprising to you. Concerning the first of these let me be quite clear so far as our own information goes. We have no direct information on any cf the Laurel products except that referred to above. I have heard that the white ware is satisfactory, and that certain other colored ware is also satisfactory. I should expect this to be true, since the white ware is said to have a true (glistening or glassy) glaze. X should expect any other properly glazed product to be satisfactory. This I believe is not a question of the lead content, but the physical and chemical state of the glaze, which should be fired at a high enough temperature, with enough silica present, to convert all of the lead to the silicate. I may be mistaken, for I do not have comprehensive information, but I believe your idea that lead glazes are no longer used on household ware is mistaken. I believe that lead glazes of a truly silicious type are satisfactory and that they are not uncommon. The difficulty in this case was not that this was a lead glaze but that,from the technical viewpoint, it was a very poor glaze (if glaze at all) not fired at a high enough temperature or in the presence of sufficient silica to make a glaze that would resist the solvent effect of dilute organic acids. And Finally, I warn you not to believe everything you read with respect to the occurrence of lead poisoning in association with various household utensils. I thought I had seen nearly everything in this field in the course of the last thirty years, but this is in fact the first time I have encountered a case of lead poisoning in a relationship of this type. Certainly such cases are a rarity, and a fairly peculiar combin ation of circumstances is required to give rise to the Intensity of absorption that occurred in this instance. Unless there is decisive HF 0008429 N9703 Miss Erma A. Hinek 2- December 9, 1960 a dangerous ty pe) one cannot accept the conclusions arrived at in specific cases 1 The diagnosis oi! Jeaci poisoning is often made erroneously, and even when it is correct the source of exposure is often inferred rather than proved. Cordially yours, RAKs ss Robert A. Kehoe, M. D. Kl? 0008430 RESEARCH*= Organized on non-commerctai basis to provide unbiased information and counsel on goods bought by the ultimate consumer. ujflSHinGTOn,heuijersev November 18, I960 UDDren.pivtR,eorobsfietryPtroAefv.eKCnetihnivoceeinMnaetdiicine &Industrial Health The Kettering Laboratory ECdiennciAnnveantuie19, Ohio Dear Dr. Kehoe: WptpfahooubeoarbldgettlesridsyfehoofareucrtodalmywdseaiaiCscslctpleroorpiukafbrmeneuletecaptia-oiaSodufttneosptn.hyieonoeisudomrcinnaiwnnisneedrgrsiwwtiwahanlerilgnteeh.guthetshdWepeleyrpolduomroboecplkusitstmlhayfoeetnridanwtbagmaorruyadftrteoettvmhoridieateslhnreeeeicsiceneegaaanntvtyildanyo,igulhrroeopfe Ourimmediate concern, youmayknow, is related to our test of dinner wpfrdoeeiaunrprnfneooderrwrtmtwhhiaiancenrhdceCe.iwceiaarnWastimentraeegh-psaSttovthsoernatepdetdrewecsipioangalrnoereoremdeuddratfdooJCeureebnrvoyeauamILrl9aua6-raSu0ettraeoeCdnlteeohPnrewssouatmasrtneeeerrresivmeBhsioueauntlblldodeiatltaibiintofeyfnoainrntodocdfluwtgdhoheoiiddsch in a different classification. If we understandthe report fromthe California State Department of Health official, white Cerama-Stone ware is safe. Weassume that this indicates that a lead glaze was not used onit. TIyothueirskeniaoswl.iattOlalneregepsuubrbopldircyiasoitnifognlittowereuahstautvhreeatthcloaentacdleirsngtelasdzTpesa,lpthaerrteshosisntimtlhlaetbtseeuirn,bgjaeusctsed. aSstaftaiornbBacukllaestin18N89o.is12t5hebyOJhoiohnSMtaatreqUuisn,ivaenrdsitthyeElnagtieneHer.inJg. OExrploewrimskein.t Twvriceoheualleavklratieneardghlcyaitdo)voteshf.rtbeohremMeepnoutrrhposeeerdreuogveccliftoaesvuz.neistvlOiioynd,fvsetwtcrahohnteliwoccrhAeeeMnsdlAteyoadAfdyirseachaahenrsioddsvmea(csetogwaopohnp,fagettIerhnsrewiidmnreueeris-elctawrordailsaionslrsaaeoHtdulcvearaepesldetahirnbty reported lead poisoning frombrightly colored striped highball glasses ofrfomleawdh.ichalcoholic beverages or water dissolved significant amounts Kf= 0008431 N9703.01 Dr. Robert A. Kehoe -2- The Kettering Laboratory November IS, I960 yTotadchoonhsenuaiftnsbsrihuknaumoeciwykntemoegnfruorlsayocr.tuaottunegenWnrrdatraa,ienowtcniesthnfhseioocca-hrouawlrssligide,tshoi.evo,rripfnWmtoaogcfetioisiuebculdenosera.utsltdsselrhu;i,snearewngep,ieopnotatrhfbdfoepaoircdcutrmioatinntntahteetstheeiioddyreanoenetunryhwtaerthwehbakaisslnieetnpnegaffyitpponoaiernutartmegnrhaayaueactlthvcssliooteinbinuntgaa,nfobsotesosrdoumttlheeodnalyt wore sent to us by our readers. Verytruly yours, A:el t Erma A. Hinek KET 0008432 Co n sumers' Research Bulletin ingpopularcustom. Thewisehousewifewhowishes *** - togiv6hecjamily the best possiblegelatin dessert will use tM^tU^flavored plain gelatins as a base, The most important practical objection to the useofgelatininanyformisthat it isanalmost cer adding her own stiga^and fresh fruit juices, etc. Typical analyses of retd^piixed gelatin desserts tain source of lead and arsenic. In the ordinary concentrations in which it is used, and as gelatin haveshown themtobeappr6Sfnj.si.tely85%carbo is as a rule an exceptional dessert rather than hydrates (sugar), 10%protein (gefafe^andabout 2% tartaric or citric acid for flavor, jS^^some a type used daily or commonly, the amounts in gested in gelatin desserts would probably not be athrteimficiaalll hcoalvoerinagboumtatthteer.samDeesdseefrintsitemlyadaertificial1 significant, but to the average consumer it seems nevertheless undesirable to add needlessly any ocorlosordoar-fosuon-ctaalilne-dflafvlaovrotra.steM, ankoinmgatdteesrsewrthsatwtihthe lffl|wn sourceof metalliccontamination to the diet. Theafofcp.untofleadcontaminationindifferentbrands pfllaavinoregdelgaetilnatitnask,easnodnlfyoraanliyttlgeoolodncgoeorkthtahnereuswinilgl of plaing&iaiintested by CRdid not vary greatly andthegelatmN4ssertsaresosimilarincomposition be small reason for buying the ready-prepared that there is probably little need to try to choose packaged products. Desserts made with plain gelatin may cost one to five cents more per pint bperotwdueecnt,tCheRm's. aHdveinccee^is4it^oo^uumrcuhsatsbeuythaenychgeealpaetisnt (depending upon the retail prices paid for the gelatins of the two types used). This price dif until some manufacturer prodTi&a thoroughly safe articleguaranteedto becontinuouslyandrigor ference against the homemadedessert will befully ouslyprotected against metallicand bacterial con compensatedfor bythesuperiorityof theresulting dish, bothas toflavorandfoodvalue. otarmigiinnaaltiomnast,erpiaalrstiocurltaorlpyrotcheossseingb.y metals, due to THEPOPULARVIVID-COLOREDDISHES ANewand UnexpectedSourceof Metallic Poisoning Al t hough manypeoplearealert tothedanger ment chemists of the health hazard presented by ofeatingfoodwhichhasbeencontaminatedwith certain colored dishes. Tests were made on dishes leador arsenicwhilegrowingor duringprocessing,of several different colors, principally tangerine, oneseldomthinksofthepossibilityofbeingpoisonedyellow, bright green, and cobalt blue, todetermine by the dishes in one's home, Nevertheless, some of the coloreddishes sopopular these days owe their sthtoereadmoinunthteomf.copper and lead given up toacid food attractiveappearance touseof pigmentswhichare The results of the tests showed that most of the extremely poisonous. These can enter in small dishes probably offer no health hazard, and that quantitiesthefoodwithwhichtheycomeintocon the hazardscaninmost cases, thoughnot inall, be tact andinsomeinstancestheresultingcontamina reduced, provided manufacturers "exercisea modi tion may be sufficient inamount to be hazardous. cumofcareintheir [thedishes']preparation." The Thegreatest dangerexistswhenthedishesareused acid foods, however, absorbed quite dangerous for foodswhichare acid, suchas apples, tomatoes, amountsof leadfromtangerine-coloreddishes, and apricots, lemonade, orangeor grapefruit juice, etc. smaller,thoughinCR'sopiniondangerous, amounts There is a tendencyinsome uninformed quarters to ridicule the danger of lead in food when it is present totheextent of onlyone part ina million. It isperhapstruethat apersonwouldnot consume enough of a single food, cocoa, forexample, to be harmed bysosmall a quantityof leadoccurringin it. The hazard, however, consistsinthesumtotal of the lead and other poisonous metals in all the foods anddrinks consumed, and ifseveral of these contain lead and other poisonous metals even to theextentofonlyapart permillionorthereabouts, the hazard maybeveryserious. As CRhas many timespointedout, althoughclearorvisiblesymptoms directly traceable to lead poisoning may be absent, there maynevertheless bea serious general under ..miningofhealthfor whichnoapparentcauseexists. of lead frommaroon and dark blue dishes. The report alsostated: "Thereisreason tobelieve that mthaenlyeagdreaenndgclaozpepsearsditshseoylvceodmbeyfrwoemakthaecidkislnfraorme a healthhazard." For the consumer, the results of these tests in dicate that lacking dependable assurance of the agblaszeendcediosfheas,hoenalethshhoauzladrdtakasesoccairaetendotwtiothusceolsourecdh ' ddiisshheessaforercaonlyoraecdidta(nsgoeurri)nefo--oadns,dptaortaiclueslaserlryexiftetnhte, dmisahroeso,n,ondearwkillblbuee,saofrergirneecnh.ooWsinhgenthbeuuynincgolonreewd vmaarnieutfyacutunrleesrsinrelwiarbilteingassoufratnhceeaibssegnivceenobfyletahde, copper, and other dangerous pigments from the glazes whichhe used. (The dealer's statement on _ Acaseofnauseabelievedtohavebeencausedby . suchapoint isofnovalue, ashewouldnot beina . drinkingfromagreen cup, teaflavoredwith lemon juice resulted lately in an investigation by govern position, to know,,having no facilities for making therefinedtypeofanalysisthat wouldberequired.) HB 00S433 Co n s u m e rs V Re s e arch , In c. N9703.02