Is Bullseye glass food safe?
Listed below are the Bullseye glasses that contain more than 1.0% lead or more than 0.5% cadmium. If you use any of these styles for food-bearing objects, we recommend capping them with Bullseye clear glass. In our testing, we have found that clear-capping results in minimal lead and cadmium leaching -- well below FDA limits. In our testing, we have also found that transparent glasses leach lead/cadmium at levels below FDA limits, and much less than opalescent lead/cadmium-bearing glasses; so you may be able to use transparent lead/cadmium-bearing glasses without clear-capping.
Our testing, however, does not cover all glass styles or firing conditions, and it cannot be taken as a guarantee of food safety when using these glasses. If you sell food-bearing objects, it is your responsibility to have them tested, since lead/cadmium leaching can be affected by the specific processes to which the glass is subjected. A heavily textured surface, for example, has more total surface area and, therefore, more area from which lead/cadmium may be leached.
A local chemistry lab should be able to perform the necessary test for you, according to ASTM C738-94(2006) Standard Test Method for Lead and Cadmium Extracted from Glazed Ceramic Surfaces, for a relatively low fee of around $30 to $70 dollars per sample.
The following glasses contain more than 1.0% lead:
Opalescents
- Cobalt Blue Opaque Rod 000014
- Translucent White 000243*
- Pink 000301
- Lavender 000304
- Dusty Lilac 000303
- Salmon Pink 000305
- Dense White 000313
- Plum 000332
- Gold Purple 000334
*Note on Translucent White: Glass in this style produced prior to 4/29/16 contains lead. Production from 04/15/21 also contains lead.
Transparents
- Light Coral 001205
- Light Pink 001215
- Light Fuchsia 001232
- Violet 001234
- Cranberry Pink 001311
- Sunset Coral 001305
- Fuchsia 001332
- Gold Purple 001334
- Cranberry Sapphirine 001342
- Amber Lustre 001701
- Green Lustre 001707
- Blue Lustre 001714
- Copper Green Lustre 001717
- Burnt Scarlet Tint 001823
- Ruby Red Tint 001824
- Ruby Pink Tint 001831
Streaky
- White, Pink Opal 002302
- White, Salmon Pink Opal 002305
- White, Cranberry Pink 002310
- Cranberry Pink, White 002311
- Petrified Wood, 002971
- Cranberry Pink, Royal Blue, Spring Green, White 003026
- Azure Blue Opal, Jade Green Opal, Neo-Lavender 003045
- Cranberry Pink, Royal Blue, Spring Green 003126
- White, Deep Royal Purple, Cranberry Pink 003328
- Cranberry Pink, Gold Purple, White 003334
- Cranberry Pink, Emerald Green, White 003345
- Cranberry Pink, Azure Blue, White 003346
Ring Mottles
- Lemon Yellow, White, Gold Pink 006323
- White, Olive Green, Gold Pink 006343
- White, Lime Green, Turquoise, Gold Pink 006467
- White, Turquoise, Lime Green, Gold Pink 006446
- White, Gold Pink 006210
- White, Turquoise, Gold Purple 006336
The following glasses contain more than 0.5% cadmium:
Opalescent
- Tomato Red 000024
- Tangerine Orange 000025
- Canary Yellow 000120
- Red 000124
- Orange 000125
- Spring Green 000126
- Woodland Brown 000203
- Sunflower Yellow 000220
- Deep Red 000224
- Pimento Red 000225
- Golden Green 000227
- Cinnabar 000309
- Umber 000310
- Marigold Yellow 000320
- Pumpkin Orange 000321
- Burnt Orange 000329
- Butterscotch 000337
Transparent
- Sienna 001119
- Yellow 001120
- Red 001122
- Orange 001125
- Chartreuse 001126
- Marigold Yellow 001320
- Carnelian 001321
- Garnet Red 001322
- Red-Orange 001022 (Rod)
- Light Orange 001025 (Rod)
Streaky
- Clear, Sunflower Yellow Opal 002020
- Yellow, Deep Forest Green 002121
- Clear, Red Opal 002024
- Clear, Spring Green Opal 002026
- White, Orange Opal 002123
- Red Opal, White 002124
- Yellow, Red 002125
- White, Orange Opal, Deep Forest Green 003123
- Woodland Brown Opal, Ivory, Black 003203
Some of our Collage sheet glass styles include streamers made with styles in the cadmium lists above.
(Updated August 2021)