Jabes Senior Member Joined: 30 Oct 2003 Posts: 70 Location: Atlanta Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Tea Grinder: Rancilio Rocky/ Maestro Plus
Posted Sun Nov 9, 2003, 10:17pm Subject: Illy Nude lead crystal health risk
Ok guys and girls. Bare with me for a minute. It came to my attention while searching for a good deal on the new Illy Nude cups (they're very cool) that they are made out of lead crystal. lead. hmm, I thought to myself. Isn't lead bad for you? So i looked it up. yea, its bad for you, but only in large amounts. Or small amounts when you are exposed to it day after day and even then, it would take years to notice anything. For children, however, they are more sensitive and there are more serious side effects. This includes unborn children. Let me get to the point. This is an excerpt from an FDA article,"children and pregnant women should avoid frequent use of crystal glassware". Frequent? For a coffeegeek, frequent might be 3-4 cups of espresso a day, everyday. I would consider this frequent and within the bounds of what the FDA is describing as a health risk. Oh, and to top it all off, here is one more for you, "Hot acidic beverages such as coffee and tea, both caffeinated and decaffeinated, cause greatest leaching". Leaching of lead from the cup into what you are consuming, that is. So for all you pregnant women out there, or husbands who make espresso for their pregnant wives, put the Nude up for a while and serve that coffeegeek quality espresso in a ceramic (non-lead glazed) espresso cup.
MarkPrince Moderator Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 5,415 Location: Vancouver, BC Expertise: Professional
Espresso: KvdW Speedster Grinder: Compak K10 WBC Vac Pot: A bit too many Drip: Clive Coffee Drip Stand Roaster: Hario Glass Retro Roaster
Posted Sun Nov 9, 2003, 11:28pm Subject: Re: Illy Nude lead crystal health risk
Illy's had the run in with lead before - one reason why the blue cups are so bloody expensive now is because they were all recalled because of the lead paint in the saucers (not in the cups).
I would hope (and imagine) Illy got the point, and when it came time for the nude cups to come out, issues like lead poisoning would have been addressed.
Still, next time I speak with someone at Illy USA, I'll raise the point.
Mark, who's sitting on four boxes of Illy nudes... unopened (and six preproduction versions... uh oh...)
BellaJava Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2002 Posts: 432 Location: Jacksonville, FL Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Livia 90 Auto Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Silex, Cory, Hellem, Cona,... Drip: Chemex Roaster: Alp, FR+, HWG
Posted Mon Nov 10, 2003, 2:39pm Subject: Re: Illy Nude lead crystal health risk
I notice that on the Illy site, on the Illy Nude page that they've added the following:
WARNING: consuming food and beverages that have been kept or served in leaded crystal products will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
The FDA... and California for that matter... are alot more paranoid on matter relating to health, especially anything that may result in a lawsuit! ;-)
My opinion is that the density of glass, as compared to that of ceramic or other materials, would result in such a minisucle amount of lead to be essentially inconsequential. I'm not a chemist or a physician but I do feel that the FDA takes the "safe side" on such arguments. Another point is that the Illy site doesn't report the lead percentage of the crystal cups.
They probably fed rats 100's of beverages from lead crystal containers each day for a year and then pointed their fingers at the poor lead poisioned rodent!
Posted Mon Nov 10, 2003, 3:53pm Subject: Re: Illy Nude lead crystal health risk
BellaJava Said:
I notice that on the Illy site, on the Illy Nude page that they've added the following:
WARNING: consuming food and beverages that have been kept or served in leaded crystal products will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
The FDA... and California for that matter... are alot more paranoid on matter relating to health, especially anything that may result in a lawsuit! ;-)
FWIW, the California warning is not put in place by the FDA or ANY health agency. Lead chrystal is made in a process that is considered fairly safe, even by the FDA, although it is worthwhile for them to play it safe in the case of children and pregnant women.
As I recall, it was put in place by a proposition.. meaning popular vote, which is the most meaningless kind of science. I should research this actually since I hate to pass along incorrect data.
Yep, I was right. Prop 65. I love CA's prop system, but that doesn't prevent us from passing stuff that just don't make sense.
Here's a more detailed link that talks about such hazards. I wouldn't be worried about sipping espresso from such cups personally (and I have a set), but it's a personal decision. Just be ruled by prudence, rather than fear.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 