FDA Warns Lunch Box Makers About Lead

Soft lunch boxes may be lined with a vinyl containing lead, the government says, but safety officials say the containers pose no immediate danger.

Food and Drug Administration officials have told companies to look for a manufacturing technique that does not use lead, which can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems.

It is not clear whether this lead can contaminate food stored in the lunch boxes. Mitchell Cheeseman, associate director of the FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, noted that since food in lunch boxes is generally stored inside bags, the potential for contamination is minimized.

If the agency were able to prove that lead is migrating from the lunch box lining into food, it would step in, Cheeseman said.

In a letter addressed to lunch box manufacturers and suppliers Thursday, FDA said tests by the Consumer Product Safety Commission drew its attention to the lead content of some lunch box linings.

CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis said Friday her organization's tests showed the lunch boxes were safe for children to handle. According to CPSC's results, children would have to rub their hands on the lunch box and then lick their hands more than 600 times a day for 15 to 30 days in order to be exposed to a dangerous amount of lead.

Cheeseman said that when vinyl is manufactured, various compounds are added to give it different properties, such as color or softness. The FDA believes that one of the compounds used to make the linings of the lunch boxes contains lead.

These lead-containing compounds are not necessary for producing vinyl, said Tim Burns, president of industry trade association the Vinyl Institute. He said he suspects that the vinyl created with these compounds is made outside of the United States.

Cheeseman said the industry has reacted appropriately when discussing the issue with the FDA.

The CPSC did not examine whether lead was traveling from the lunch box to food stored inside because that is out of its jurisdiction, Davis said. If that were to occur, it would potentially come under FDA's jurisdiction as a food additive, Cheeseman said.

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On the Net:

Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov

Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov