Dish and Dinnerware, Scanned by Eric Ritter

How to judge a dish yourself

1. Clear glass, plain white ceramic, or plain stainless? Very likely safe. No pigment, no glaze decoration, no mystery.
2. Colored glaze, hand-painted, embossed-and-painted, or vintage? Worth testing. The risk lives in the decor, not the substrate.
3. Decoration on top of the main glaze or underneath? Underglaze (painted, then transparent glaze fired on top) is generally safer. Overglaze / decals / gold leaf is where food can touch pigment directly.
4. Age. Pre-1990 US, the 1970s–80s, and anything "vintage" is higher-risk by default.
5. "Lead-free" on the box means the manufacturer tested the piece ground-up and averaged, not that the eating surface is lead-free.
6. When in doubt, test it. 20 seconds with Fluoro-Spec: swab, spray, check for glow.

All items purchased in-store at the retailer listed (or from thrift, clearly marked), scanned on a Thermo Niton XL5 Plus or Nikon XRF Soils module, logged on everythinglead.org with photos and XRF screenshots. Supply chains change. Brands reformulate. Test the specific item you are about to use if you want to be sure.