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Certain brands of imported cookware are likely to leach “significant levels” of lead into food, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration said in a consumer warning Friday. Officials tested a number of cookware products made from aluminum, brass and aluminum alloys known as “Hindalium” and “Indalium” and determined that they may release lead into food during the cooking process, the FDA said. No level of lead is safe for human ingestion. Young children, women of childbearing age and mothers who are breastfeeding face the highest health risks in eating food tainted with the toxic metal, officials said. The FDA said...

FReepers, it’s time to purchase a new cookware set. My current non-stick pan is chipping. I have lodge cast iron pans for occasional use, but would like an everyday non-stick pan. Any suggestions?

Heating releases cookware chemicals Janet Raloff Nonstick coatings on fry pans and microwave-popcorn bags can, when heated, release traces of potentially toxic perfluorinated chemicals into the air and the food being cooked, a new study suggests. Although the chemicals aren't subject to any regulatory restriction and have uncertain toxicity, the researchers conducting the study suggest that people at least run kitchen-exhaust fans when using these products. A 2005 industry study found no such releases. Chemist Kurunthachalam Kannan and his New York State government team, based in Albany, performed the tests on four brands of nonstick fry pans and two brands...

 `Virgin' roasting pan serves up its last supper      Susan McGuinness holds her pot roast pan showing off the pan's curious marking which resembles an image of the Virgin Mary.    From a certain angle, it looks like a charred map of Europe, surrounded by a vast constellation of stars.      But to Susan McGuinness, the rusted remains of the label on her roasting pan are nothing less than the image of the Madonna cuddling the baby Jesus in her arms - or fresh meat for the auction block.      McGuinness' fiance, Michael McDonough, first noticed it Sunday after he cooked...