Xtrema Cookware — Independent Acid Bath Lead Testing

Xtrema Cookware is very popular, however, we have heard rumors of it containing “dangerous amounts of lead” by other influencers. Over the years, many people have asked us about Xtrema and the lead present inside the cookware. However, having lead present inside the cookware is very different than having lead leach out of the ceramic pans. If lead is present but does not leach out into food during cooking, there is very little legitimate concern. So we decided to independently send two sets of Xtrema Cookware to an EPA-certified laboratory to answer this question once and for all. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like safest cookware without PFAS “forever chemicals,” best air purifiers to clean your indoor air, and safest air fryers now join us for another consumer study this time on Xtrema Cookware tested with acid for lead & cadmium.

Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. This post also contains affiliate links. Mamavation paid for this testing on our own and did not receive any money from other parties for this purpose. However, we did reach out to Xtrema and got donations of cookware for testing. We will use any affiliate money received from this post to pay ourselves back for this testing and fund other consumer investigations in the future. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you for supporting Mamavation! 

Influencers Claim Xtrema Leaches Dangerous Amounts of Lead Without Proof

For many years, we have heard rumors that Xtrema contained dangerous amounts of lead. One piece of Xtrema Cookware was cracked open and tested with an XRF analyzer and found to contain lead on the inside. It was then argued that Xtrema was too dangerous to cook off of. This seemed odd to us for the following reasons:

1. All ceramic cookware contains heavy metals, but not all ceramic cookware leaches dangerous amounts of lead into your food and the only way to find out is to do an acid bath test. This test shows you how much lead would come out during cooking over time.
2. Most ceramic cookware contains nanotechnology coatings (particularly nano titanium) that have been linked to immune disruption and pre-cancerous lesions in the gut. Xtrema cookware is one of the few brands of ceramic cookware that does not contain these nanotechnology coatings making them preferable to 99% of the other ceramic cookware options.
3. Xtrema has never received a warning letter via the California Prop. 65 database (we checked), which means no one has tested them independently and found a dangerous amount of lead leaching into the food while cooking. If this product was leaching a dangerous amount of lead, they could easily be sued under California’s Prop. 65 laws and would lose thousands of dollars. But most important, there would then be a public record of the issue via a notification letter and they would be required to have a Prop. 65 warning for lead afterward. Many cookware companies like Williams Sonoma have notification letters, but Cermacor, the parent company of Xtrema, does not.
4. Xtrema shares their heavy metal testing results online and has for many years, which sets them apart from 99% of other ceramic cookware brands.

So we decided to find out once and for all if the lead inside Xtrema’s Ceramic Cookware was leaching dangerous amounts during cooking with our own independent EPA-certified laboratory and acid bath testing. We hope the results of this testing will help give consumers more clarity about the safety of the cookware they are purchasing from an independent source. How did we pay for this testing? We used funds from the ad revenue and affiliate revenue from Mamavation.com. Xtrema did not pay for this testing, however, we did reach out to them to ask for donations of specific cookware products and they were happy to send cookware for testing.

Results from Mamavation’s EPA-Certified Laboratory

Mamavation sent two pieces of cookware from Xtrema to an EPA-certified laboratory to have it filled with acid for 24 hours and then have the acid tested for lead. This type of testing alerts consumers as to how much lead would come out of the cookware over years of normal use. This time, we decided to utilize two different types of acid to analyze lead for variety.

The Method Used to Test Xtrema Cookware for Lead

• First Test Method with Xtrema Signature Skillet: 1 Liter of a 1% nitric acid solution was transferred into the cookware.
• Second Test Method with Xtrema Versa Pan: 1 Liter of 4% acetic acid solution was transferred into the cookware.

The concentration of lead measured in this solution was 0.72 ug/L (i.e., ppb), which is equivalent to 0.072 ug per unit (i.e., 0.072 ug/L x 0.100 L ), where 1 unit = 1 piece of cookware. 0.072 ug is the value calculated after accounting for the volume (i.e., 100 mL = 0.1 L) of 1% nitric acid added to the pan. The reported value is in units of ug/L.

• Xtrema Signature Skillet — 0.072 ug

The concentration of lead measured in this solution was 1.076 ug/L (i.e., ppb), which is equivalent to 0.1076 ug per unit (i.e., 1.076 ug/L x 0.100 L ), where 1 unit = 1 piece of cookware. 0.1076 ug is the value calculated after accounting for the volume (i.e., 100 mL = 0.1 L) of 4% acetic acid added to the pan. The reported value is in units of ug/L.

• Xtrema Versa Pan — 0.1076 ug

Prop. 65 Compliance for California

The California Prop. 65 requirements for lead are very particular and reflect the strictest lead standards in the United States. Everything must be translated from ug to mg/kg in order to see the actual Prop. 65 values. We did this for you below so you can see how that would look. The Califonia safe harbor levels for lead are as follows.

• The lead limit must yield more than 100 mg/kg to receive a warning. (We must now calculate what our results in ug would look like in mg/kg.)
• Lead Results for Xtrema Versa Pan: 0.1076 ug = 0.0001076 mg — No warning required
• Lead Results for Xtrema Signature Skillet: 0.072 ug = 0.000072 mg — No warning required

The CA Prop 65 requirements for lead are in units of mg/kg.  To get units of mg/kg, we would need to take the mass of lead per unit (0.0001076 mg and 0.000072 mg) and divide by the mass of the ceramic surface.  There is not a straightforward way to acquire this mass, but it doesn’t really matter because it’s safe to say that 0.0001076 mg and 0.000072 mg divided by the mass of the ceramic surface will be orders of magnitude below the limits of Prop.65 for California.

The Outcome of Independent Xtrema Cookware Lead Study

So What Does This Mean?

The lead leached out of the Xtrema Vera Pot & Xtrema Signature Skillet after the acid bath it received at the lab was far below (thus safer) than what would be acceptable by the State of California and Prop. 65 standards, which are some of the strictest in the world for lead contamination. Therefore, with normal use of the Xtrema, lead exposure is not concerning based on California regulations under Prop. 65.

We can therefore feel even more confident recommending Xtrema Cookware, not only because they don’t use any problematic PFAS “forever chemicals” or nanotechnology coatings, but they also do not pose a risk for lead poisoning to your family over time. We reached out to Xtrema after we did our testing and to celebrate these results they offered us a special discount to our audience which expires in the end of April 2024.

• Xtrema Ceramic Cookware (Xtrema Ceramic Cookware is offering Mamavation readers 20% off their products by using “MAMAVATION” at checkout till the end of April 2024.) 
  • Xtrema Cookware 12 Piece Versa Set (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 20% off your order.)
  • Xtrema Cookware Signature Skillet Saute Set (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 20% off your order.)
  • Xtrema Cookware 9 Piece Traditions Set (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 20% off your order.)
  • Xtrema Cookware Stir Fry Pan (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 20% off your order.)
  • Xtrema Cookware 11-inch Versa Wok (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 20% off your order.)
  • Xtrema Cookware Signature Skillet (Use discount code “MAMAVATION” for 20% off your order.)

Additional Consumer Studies Led by Mamavation

Here is a list of other consumer studies that involved sending products to an EPA-certified lab and reporting back on PFAS “forever chemicals,” heavy metals, or microplastics.

Beauty & Personal Care Product Testing

• Green Beauty Makeup –100+ products
• Lip Balms — 20 products
• Toilet Paper — 17 products
• Dental Floss — 39 products
• Contact Lenses — 18 products
• Condoms & Lubricants — 29 products
• Bandages like “Band-Aids” — 40 products

Food & Beverages Testing

• Salt — 23 products
• Butter Wrappers — 32 products
• Fast Food Packaging — 81 products
• Nut Butters — 33 products
• Cooking Oils — 67 products
• Pasta & Tomato Sauces — 55 products
• Ketchup — 12 products

Supplement Testing

• Electrolytes — 40 products
• Children’s Probiotics — 21 products

Menstrual Products Testing

• Tampons — 23 brands
• Sanitary Pads & Incontinence Pads – 46 products
• Period Underwear — 20 brands

Clothing Testing

• Activewear –Yoga Pants & Workout Leggings— 32 products
• Sports bras — 23 products

Food Packaging & Parchment Paper Testing

• Parchment Paper Baking Paper Brands Full Investigation— 5 products
• Cupcake Liners — 3 products
• Plastic Free Disposable Straws — 4 products
• Fast Food & Grocery Store Packaging Testing — combined with a study from Consumer Reports

Baby & Children PFAS Testing

• Strollers 
• Diapers
• Probiotics for Children
• Kids Backpacks — 19 products

Computers, Phones, & Office Testing

• Mobile Phone Screen Protectors

Cleaning & Laundry Testing

• Laundry Detergent Sheets