What's really in your tableware?

Lead has been used in ceramic glazes for centuries. It makes colours more vivid and creates a smooth, glassy finish, and it's cheaper than safer alternatives.

The problem: if a piece isn't fired at precisely the right temperature, lead doesn't fully bond to the ceramic surface. It leaches into food, especially acidic foods like tomato-based curries, chutneys, citrus, and pickles. The foods most Indian
households eat daily.

What the research says:

• In 2025, the US FDA issued warnings on 19 cookware products, primarily from South Asia, after testing confirmed lead leaching into food. Their recommendation: throw them away.

• A study of traditional pottery found 73% of tested pieces were lead-positive.

• Children absorb 40–50% of consumed lead, compared to 3–10% for adults. There is no safe level of lead exposure in children.

• India does not currently have an equivalent consumer-facing warning system for ceramic tableware. That gap is exactly why awareness matters.

Want to switch? See lead-free ceramic plates made in India. We test our glazes for lead and cadmium release at an NABL-accredited laboratory, tested per ISO 6486. Prefer to sip safe? Our ceramic mugs are tested for safety too, with no bone ash, for chai, coffee, and everyday drinking. If you want the longer version of what that phrase actually means, and the questions that get a straight answer from any seller, read what lead-free ceramic means, and how to check.

Cadmium compounds are used in red, orange, and yellow ceramic pigments. Like lead, cadmium can leach into food if not properly processed. Long-term exposure is linked to kidney damage and weakened bones.

The same FDA warnings that flagged lead also test for cadmium. Most Indian consumers have never heard of it.

Bone china, the kind of tableware found in most Indian households, contains 30–50% bone ash. That's calcium phosphate derived from animal bones, typically from slaughterhouses.

India has one of the world's largest vegetarian populations. Many households that observe dietary principles around non-harm and purity eat every meal off plates made with animal bone. It's simply not something most people know to check.

For reference: LaOpala, one of India's largest crockery brands, has specifically marketed their products as '100% Bone Ash Free' with a vegetarian symbol, because the demand is real once people know.

If you want to make the switch, see our bone-ash-free dinnerware, mineral stoneware, zero animal bone, vegetarian-safe.