Written By: Muskan Gupta | Published : August 21, 2025 4:48 PM IST
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued an urgent safety warning for against certain imported cookware as manufactured by Saraswati Strips Pvt. Ltd. and sold under the label Tiger White brand. The products were branded as Pure Aluminium Utensils (RTM No. 2608606), but it was found out that when used in cooking or food storage, hazardous levels of lead can leach out.
These utensils were given away at Mannan Supermarket, at 166-11 Hillside Avenue, Jamaica, NY. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The distributor of these products has not been identified or reached by the FDA, and this raises fear that such products may still be in the market.
This caution is reflective of a more systemic regulatory caution that imported cookware manufactured of aluminium metal, brass metal and some aluminium alloys (commonly billed as Hindalium/Hindolium or Indalium/Indolium) may release harmful amounts of lead into foods.
In December 2024, the FDA sent a warning letter to the retailers and distributors informing them that such cookware could be considered adulterated and it could not be sold based on U.S. law. The agency also pointed to coordinated testing by the Public Health Department in Seattle to confirm the risk.
Testing by PHSKC has found that other cookware had high levels of lead that were above 100 ppm in some cases significantly high thus a danger to human health when handled through cooking. Compared to stainless steel cookware, however, the risk was much lower, demonstrating stainless steel to be a safer option.
Lead is a very strong neurotoxin with no safe limit. Exposure to even low levels has severe health presentations across the age continuum, with children and pregnant women being especially susceptible since their systems are still developing and their metabolism is faster than their agemates'.
There is no safe level of lead in the human body, making prevention critical. Be alert and informed, especially when it comes to the tools you cook with, because they directly impact what ends up on your plate.
