While traveling you might be tempted to pick a neat piece of handmade tableware, like a bright red spoon in a Chinatown shop or a wonderfully molded Mexican jug. But besides memories, you might be bringing back home an unexpected stowaway: lead.

CBS5 in Sacramento had 10 pieces of crockery they purchased tested for lead content. 8 of them came back with very high levels.

One red Chinese spoon had 2,400 parts per million and a yellow Chinese bowl had 5,800 parts per million. The concern is that the lead inside the objects could leach onto the surface of the plates and enter your body if you eat off them.

Lead is great in paint because it’s a very cheap way to make colors shinier and richer. Unfortunately it is also toxic.

So feel free to snap up all the cool red Chinese spoons you want. They just might be better off on the shelf at home than on the table.

ConsumerWatch Test Reveals High Levels Of Lead In Tableware [CBS5]

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