The Dear Dr.MOZ Baby Blog

Dear Dr.MOZ,

I’ve heard that lunch bags and soft coolers (with the white plastic coating inside) are full of lead. Is this true? Both of our kids have lunch boxes with white plastic lining inside, so we got worried and started using paper bags instead.

Thanks!
Mama D

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Hello Mama D,

Unfortunately some lunch boxes, lunch bags, fabric coolers, diaper bags, and even bibs have recently been found to have lead. The tricky part is, you can’t determine if bags are dangerous by looking at them because some bags created with white vinyl don’t contain lead. The only real way to determine if a bag is safe or not is with a lead testing kit.

There are quite a few inexpensive lead testing kits available on the market, but the one we’ve used that works great is “LeadCheck” test swabs by Homax. The swabs come 2 per packs for around $10 and are available at most of the major home improvement stores (store list here).

Follow the simple directions on the box, and if the swab turns pink or red

when rubbed on your bag…it has lead and shouldn’t be used. Although it is unlikely that exposure to one bag will have enough lead to cause lead poisoning, your family may unknowingly be exposed to other sources of lead in addition to the bag. This is why the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children get tested for lead at 1 and 2 years old. The health risks will obviously increase with each exposure, so we recommend testing all high risk products and areas of your home including:

- vinyl bibs, paint in older homes, stained glass, lead pipes and faucets, ceramic wear, vinyl lunchboxes, and lunch bags

Thanks for the question Mama D and check-out KidsHealth.org for a good summary of long term effects and warning signs of lead poisoning.

Have fun and stay healthy!
Dr.MOZ