Migration of metals from stainless steel kitchenware and tableware

Abstract

The migration of iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) from stainless steel kitchenware and tableware was investigated. The migration was affected by conditions such as solvent, temperature, etc. It generally increased in the order water <4% acetic acid <0.5% citric acid, and at room temperature, 24 hr <60°C, 30 min <95°C, 30 min < boiling, 2 hr. The migration test of new and used stainless steel utensils (16 and 19 samples, respectively) was carried out with 4% acetic acid for 80 min at 6O°C when the utensils were usually used at a relatively low temperature, and at 95°C when they were used at about 100°C. Fe migration was found in all new utensils (50~1,110 ppb) and in 5 used ones (90~340 ppb), and Cr migration was found in 10 new ones (5~28 ppb) and 9 used ones (5~7 ppb). Migration might decrease with repeated use. Pb migration was found in one used utensil (25 ppb), whereas Ni and Cd migration was not found in any sample. Evaporation residue was less than 11 ppm in all samples. As the migration of metals from stainless steel kitchenware and tableware was very small, it poses no problem as regards food sanitation.