That is pretty scary when you have to buy one that says Lead-Free.

Since the summer of 2004, CEH (Center for Environmental Health) has purchased and tested over 200 children’s soft vinyl lunchboxes and found that many of them contained high levels of lead. Lead was usually found in the lining of the lunchboxes where it could come into contact with food. In addition to being a known carcinogen and reproductive toxin, lead is a neurotoxin that can cause health effects such as behavioral problems and hearing problems in children that are exposed to low levels.

As of the Fall of 2006, CEH has forced many companies to eliminate lead threats from their lunchboxes through legal action. Now brands such as InGear and Fashion Accessory Bazaar unchboxes are lead-safe for children. However, if you have a vinyl lunchbox purchased before last Fall, CEH recommends you test it for lead.

Because it is difficult to tell by sight which lunchboxes contain lead, CEH is advising parents to buy products from companies that have committed to only sell lead-safe lunchboxes. If these are not available, we recommend that parents avoid soft vinyl lunchboxes altogether, or test their own lunchboxes at home.

Manufacturers/Retailers who agreed to change their products to be lead-safe include:

Ingear
Fashion Accessory Bazaar
Lisa Frank
Big Dogs
Accessory Network Group
Baby Universe
Buy Baby Buy
Romar Accessories
Silver Goose

Test Your Box
You can test vinyl lunch boxes you already own using a hand-held lead testing kit, often available at hardware stores. Two reliable and easy-to-use brands are PACE’s Lead Alert (also available by calling 1-800-884-6073) and LeadCheck (also available online at www.leadcheck.com). For a visual demonstration of how to use LeadCheck, please visit www.cehca.org/test-for-lead.

If your child’s lunch box tests positive please call CEH at 510-594-9864. We can help you interpret the results and can use your product as evidence in our ongoing work get the lead out of our children’s lunch boxes.

I actually just bought a new lunch box the other day and the sticker said lead-free!

When i hear things like this it just justifies why I am so cautious over the things i give my son. He is autistic and I truly believe that a large reason for all of our problems like autism and some cancers, etc. are these awful things that are in our day to day life.

Until we stop accepting answers like “such lead levels are too low to pose a threat” our children will be at risk! With all of the recent news about lead still being found in so many products containing paint and plastic how much exposure to “such lead levels” is too much? It is in their lunch sacks & toys for heaven sakes! ENOUGH!

Why can’t they care enough to make cute recycled cotton lunch sacks?! I am going to start using recycled grocery bags until then! My daughter may look like she went shopping at Randall’s before school but at least her lunch will be lead free!

It’s about time some one tells us that we are possibly poisoning our kids!

I PACK MY LUNCH EVERYDAY IN A GLASS CONTAINER. IT’S HEALTHIER FOR ME AND THE EARTH BECAUSE THE TRASH DOESN’T END UP IN A LANDFILL.