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Product Testing Reports
As a company focused on transparency, we’ve published our product testing results below. Here’s a quick breakdown for you.
Fable dinnerware is free of lead and cadmium. What does that mean, exactly?
With all glazed ceramics, including stoneware, the term “lead free” refers to very specific regulations set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and even stricter rules set by California’s Proposition 65. Businesses can use the term “lead free” when their products comply with rigorous criteria that limit trace lead and cadmium levels and leachability. At Fable, all of our materials meet—and exceed—these requirements.
Why do we care about being lead free?
We want to make sure that our ceramics don’t leach lead (or cadmium) into your food. To verify that they are lead free, our products are required to undergo a very strict set of internationally recognized tests that are standardized through ASTM International.
For lead and cadmium leachability in particular, our products undergo specific third-party testing known as the Standard Test Method for Lead and Cadmium Extracted from Glazed Ceramic Surfaces (ASTM C738-94). This is the only authorized testing method for lead and cadmium leaching that’s globally recognized. Due to the highly sensitive nature of these tests, they must be performed in a controlled lab environment at a facility that has been certified to perform them.
While X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) testing is also capable of detecting lead and cadmium in a certified lab setting, it is not an approved testing method for determining their leachability. Therefore, it is not a relevant test to determine whether dinnerware is “lead free” as outlined by FDA and Prop 65 requirements.
How does the testing work?
While undergoing the Standard Test Method for Lead and Cadmium Extracted from Glazed Ceramic Surfaces (ASTM C738-94), at least six different samples of each of our products in every glaze color are submerged in a 4% acetic acid bath for 24 hours at 20-24ºC. This process works to mimic extremely heavy product usage (far above the standard everyday usage), thus accelerating the release of any lead and cadmium in the product. After the 24 hour period, specific samples are taken using high precision atomic absorption spectrometers to measure the levels of lead or cadmium that have leached from the product.
At Fable, this testing has determined that the lead and cadmium leachability of our products is below the detectable thresholds of the measuring spectrometer, and well below the maximum regulatory threshold of what is considered safe by the FDA and Prop 65.