BeerBorg

got a meat thermometer to use while brewing... a MEAT THERMOMETER.. ya know, the thing you stick into very hot pots of meat or wort to get a temp right? well.. imagine my surprise when on the package back when I got home I read:

MADE IN CHINA...no shock there... and

IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROP 65(?) THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS LEAD. USE CAUTION WHEN USING THIS PRODUCT. WASH HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER AFTER HANDLING....

lead? in a fking meat thermometer? last time I checked lead had a very very low melting point. so how does this sht make its way into our markets past the federal government health standards and such? needless to say it is going back to the store.

omg... lead... in a meat thermometer!

Stuff like this just makes visible cartoon question marks shoot out of my head.

You'd think that everyone knows by now that lead is really bad for you, and using it in the manufacture of products that come into contact with food or that go in peoples' mouths (lead paint in children's toys, folks?) is a bad idea. Yet apparently, Chinese manufacturers and Western importers didn't get the memo. These products should be boycotted by everyone.

Next thing you know, they'll be handing out free guns to monkeys and setting them loose.

Could be just a lawyer warning, maybe lead in the solder inside. I'm surprised that bottles of beer don't say: "Do not take with alcohol"!

There's a bit of confusion here...

California has crazy rules in place, including Prop 65. This requires that products that contain certain chemicals/minerals must have a warning, regardless of whether or not the product could impact your health.

If you want to eliminate lead, go get all of your computer and tv electrical cables and throw them away. Now, go wash your hands, because the minute amount of lead in the covering might have rubbed off.

I suspect that the thermometer has a minute amount of lead in the wire that connects the probe to the dial. Just a guess. The probe itself is sealed, the only possible area anything could enter would be the dial, and the lead would have to leave the wire, go through the dial and jump into your beer.

Some companies label all their products to conform to California's rules. Some only label products destined for California that way, because they know the warning impacts sales.

Oh, by the way, did you ever test the solder in your house's plumbing? Prior to 1986, solder containing lead was commonly used in pipes. And go look at the china your wife got from her mother who got it from her mother...

RELAX!

remember also that some societies used powder lead as a sweetener The Romans and others of that time frame loved wine goblets made of lead. Also take into consideration that the leading cause of death is LIFE!

braukasper wrote:remember also that some societies used powder lead as a sweetener The Romans and others of that time frame loved wine goblets made of lead. Also take into consideration that the leading cause of death is LIFE!

Yes. This was the same time frame in which the Romans were feeding Christians to lions, turning death and murder into a sport and stabbing one another to death during Senatorial debates. Ahhh. The good ole days.

But as far as the thermometer is cncerned: As long as you're not using it in the state of Kalifornia you'll more than likely be alright.

To show how ridiculous California's law is, I washed my car last week and used a wheel and bumper brush. I went to recycle the tag and saw a sticker on it, which reads: WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.

RickBeer wrote:To show how ridiculous California's law is, I washed my car last week and used a wheel and bumper brush. I went to recycle the tag and saw a sticker on it, which reads: WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.

They are just cuckoo crazy out there! I'm surprised there isn't a warning that says "Call Poison Control If Ingested."

Wait, I can't eat that?