# melamine plates



## maciascl (Nov 11, 2004)

The more I read about melamine levels in formula & other things & how people are getting sick from it, the more I am worrying about melamine plates. My kids eat off of them & it makes me nervous. I would like to give them different plates, but the regular plates won't fit on DS2s high chair tray. I want to get them something, but I don't know what. We are trying to use them less & less. Is plastic any better? We try not to use alot of plastic, but I can't afford the corelle that I really want for us all to use.


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## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

http://www.haba.de/Melamine_Tablew.1797.0.html

I just came across that. I got rid of my Melamine stuff though.


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## LaffNowCryLater (May 2, 2003)

Have you priced Corelle lately? I got a gimungous box set for like $25 bucks

Here are a bunch of 16-piece sets for $29- and don't forget you can buy the pieces individually at WM as well.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search....y=0&Find=Find


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## jenmichelle99 (Jul 4, 2008)

I'm uncomfortable using melamine especially after reading this article
http://www.ameinfo.com/120070.html

As far as ive read, polypropelene (sp?) is safe to use, but I am buying the Corelle dishes if I dont get them for Christmas.


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

We got 6 of these for the kids - they are perfectly child sized (in between an adult dinner plate and a dessert plate):

http://www.kitchencollection.com/Tem...ed=hot%20dots&

and then bought the soup/berry bowls at WMart for $2 apiece:
http://www.kitchencollection.com/Tem...d=soup%20bowl&

Here's a pic to show you the size comparison between the kid's Corelle and our own stoneware:

http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t=100_3402.jpg


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## mama*pisces (Feb 17, 2008)

How can I tell if my dishes contain Melamine or not?

I may have to ask for some for Christmas!


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mama*pisces* 
How can I tell if my dishes contain Melamine or not?

They are different than ceramic or stoneware - it looks like a thin, super glossy, super hard plastic. Do you have any plastic-looking dishes? And they are pretty much unbreakable. And should probably say melamine on the back... ??? maybe.


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## jenmichelle99 (Jul 4, 2008)

I haven't seen any that say they are melamine but they do say "not microwave safe" or something to that effect.

If you google it you should get a lot of examples.


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

I have three and they all say "Melamine" on the back. I never even thought about them being toxic.


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## mama*pisces (Feb 17, 2008)

Yup, just looked, and I have a set of four that my MIL got us because they are color-coordinated with our kitchen. Blah. I wonder if dh will notice if I just toss them....


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Are those picture plates the kids always seem to make in preschool melamine? We have a ton of those we use a lot. We also have a bunch that a local burger chain gave out as kids toys a few years ago.

I will have to check if the kitchen store at the outlet where we got all our bowels sells those smaller plates. My only concern is if they get thrown.


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## Jes'sBeth (Aug 30, 2004)

I don't know about using corelle though... I have picked shards of corelle out of my feet once too often (we used corelle daily as a kid) sure they're hard to break but when they do break they SHATTER! We would regularly walk through the kitchen barefoot and find another shard from one or another dish that had broken even if it had been weeks since we had broken anything. You just can't get thousands of pieces up easily... they bounce under appliances and then work their way out.

I wish they made stainless steel dishes more readily available.


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## mama*pisces (Feb 17, 2008)

Is it safe to assume that all kiddie plates are made with melamine? Ds has The First Years Elmo plate and bowl, I just looked it up and all it said was this:

"PVC, polyvinyl chloride, and phthalate free."

which sounds great, but what about Melamine?

I hate to throw those out. He would definitely miss them.







But, his safety comes first, of course.


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

I read that all Corelle has "low levels" of lead in it. Has anyone else read different? I know some don't care about low levels, but I sure do, for the health of my family. We do have melamine and got rid of quite a few of those recently.

Seems the only thing safe is clear glass and some wood. When in lived in Oregon they always held lead testing events for families (bring in toys, dishes, etc) for free and they suggested clear glass or wood dishes. Just be careful where you get your wood, look into it...and it is expensive! But I feel "safer" using wood than glass when I have toddlers and little kids eating out of it. Most wood can just use olive oil to keep it good...but you can't use it in a dishwasher, but we don't have one so we're okay there









Maybe something like this.

We only use clear glass for drinking and for storing left overs and spices, teas, etc.


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
Are those picture plates the kids always seem to make in preschool melamine? We have a ton of those we use a lot. We also have a bunch that a local burger chain gave out as kids toys a few years ago.

I will have to check if the kitchen store at the outlet where we got all our bowels sells those smaller plates. My only concern is if they get thrown.

Kinda like make it plates? Yep those are melamine. And the ones Burgerville passed out were too. I think it was a safer alternative to plastics w/ BPA and "safer" than glass for the breaking factor.


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## Jes'sBeth (Aug 30, 2004)

Maybe I'll switch over to bamboo... I can wash it in the dishwasher, it won't break when we drop it and it looks cool (though my daughter will be unhappy about the lack of pink...)


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jes'sBeth* 

I wish they made stainless steel dishes more readily available.

That is so true! But I just looked and found these and I'm really excited about it! Might get some for holiday gifts for the lo's


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## mama*pisces (Feb 17, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lemon Juice* 
That is so true! But I just looked and found these and I'm really excited about it! Might get some for holiday gifts for the lo's









Those look great!


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lemon Juice* 
Kinda like make it plates? Yep those are melamine. And the ones Burgerville passed out were too. I think it was a safer alternative to plastics w/ BPA and "safer" than glass for the breaking factor.

How did you know I was talking about Burgerville.







: Those plates are perfect for DS's tray..and we have a bunch cause they passed them out a few different times.

I also need to look up some dishes I inherited from my grandmother. They are SpaldingWare and I just looked them up and they are MelMac.. now off to find out what that is.


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
How did you know I was talking about Burgerville.







Those plates are perfect for DS's tray..and we have a bunch cause they passed them out a few different times.

Used to live in Portland and remember the plates. All my friends had them too







I do say I miss Burgerville a lot!


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## maciascl (Nov 11, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LaffNowCryLater* 
Have you priced Corelle lately? I got a gimungous box set for like $25 bucks

Here are a bunch of 16-piece sets for $29- and don't forget you can buy the pieces individually at WM as well.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search....y=0&Find=Find

I've been boycotting WalMart for years, but I might have to make 1 exception if I can't find them online at similar prices.














:


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## delicious (Jun 16, 2003)

we found a bunch of really shallow stainless plates/dishes and cups at the indian store several years ago for like$1-$2 each. and we have some stainless ikea bowls that are really small, too.

the melamine is so appealing, though!


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## delicious (Jun 16, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lemon Juice* 
That is so true! But I just looked and found these and I'm really excited about it! Might get some for holiday gifts for the lo's









hey that is way cute stuff!


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## Britishmum (Dec 25, 2001)

I"m going out shopping for stainless steel after the holidays. My older two can be trusted pretty much with breakable stuff now, but the little one loves to throw. I think he'll be 20 before I'll be able to give him a real plate.


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## DashsMama (Dec 1, 2001)

For those of you who would like Corelle dishes and are living on a budget, look at your local Goodwill or other thriftshop. Ours always has a decent selection of Corelle and they usually cost only about 25 to 50 cents each. You may have to put up with funky 1970's designs though. Ah, avocado green!


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## asaunders (Aug 7, 2005)

I was just doing research on this yesterday. I ended up picking up a few dishes like this from a local store to see how I like them: http://bambuhome.com/products/lacquerware/
They're pretty pricey, but we're trying to phase out all of our dinnerware we're not certain about its safety and these were about all I could find that satisfied me in the short term. Still doing a lot of research, though, and will keep checking back to this thread. I really liked the stainless steel sets a PP linked.

As for Corelle, this link I found yesterday says you should stick to plain white, - no decorations.

http://wildinthecity.ca/2007/11/19/t...erware-i-think


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *asaunders* 
As for Corelle, this link I found yesterday says you should stick to plain white, - no decorations.

Good grief. It's always something, isn't it?







:

Well, my only consolation is that our kids' Corelle plates at least have their design on the far edges where the food doesn't touch anyway.


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## alysmommy2004 (Jun 23, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *maciascl* 
I've been boycotting WalMart for years, but I might have to make 1 exception if I can't find them online at similar prices.














:

Kmart sells individual pieces too. I boycott WM too, but I don't mind the occasional trip to Kmart.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

I got individual pieces at a kitchen store in the outlet mall. The kids broke 90% of our bowls and I didn't want to buy a new set of dishes over bowls. Plus they are made in the US.







They only have a colored ring around the top so I am not too worried about them.

I thought the lead in them came from paint if they were made in China?


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## lizajane30 (Mar 19, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *delicious* 
we found a bunch of really shallow stainless plates/dishes and cups at the indian store several years ago for like$1-$2 each. and we have some stainless ikea bowls that are really small, too.

DS eats off of small stainless steel plates and bowls we picked up for about $1.50 a piece at a restaurant supply store.

This photo shows the plate

This one shows the bowl

He drinks out of stainless steel cups we found at IKEA, $1.99 each.

We got him a bunch of old airline flatware (which is smaller than regular) at a thrift shop. Voila! Plastic-free dining for the little ones.


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## LaffNowCryLater (May 2, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lemon Juice* 
I read that all Corelle has "low levels" of lead in it. Has anyone else read different?

I always heard they were one of the ones that kept testing free of lead.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *asaunders* 

As for Corelle, this link I found yesterday says you should stick to plain white, - no decorations.

http://wildinthecity.ca/2007/11/19/t...erware-i-think

Good info!


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LaffNowCryLater* 
I always heard they were one of the ones that kept testing free of lead.

What I have looked up is that they use lead in all their dishes...but "low levels" that are FDA approved. I found info on it here. Do you have any links that prove they don't? Is testing "free" of lead possible w/ using low levels in it for all dishes? Or does it come up as free of lead b/c the levels are below FDA standards? I think I might give them a call myself to figue it out.


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## mimie (Mar 7, 2003)

Are we sure that melamine plates are unsafe? I mean, a lot of substances are fine in solid form when we don't ingest them, but dangerous if they make it into the blood stream. Like aluminum foil, for example. I would like to avoid aluminum in my bloodstream, but aluminum foil does not get into my system, even if I wrap my food in it.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mimie* 
Are we sure that melamine plates are unsafe? I mean, a lot of substances are fine in solid form when we don't ingest them, but dangerous if they make it into the blood stream. Like aluminum foil, for example. I would like to avoid aluminum in my bloodstream, but aluminum foil does not get into my system, even if I wrap my food in it.

It is my understanding that aluminum does get into your body if you wrap your food in it. That is why you shouldn't use aluminum foil or aluminum pots and pans.


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
It is my understanding that aluminum does get into your body if you wrap your food in it. That is why you shouldn't use aluminum foil or aluminum pots and pans.

Ita.
And for those who may not still knowl....mainstream deodarant has aluminum in it as well that absorbs into the body, directly into the body each and every time you use it. Every.single.day.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lemon Juice* 
Ita.
And for those who may not still knowl....mainstream deodarant has aluminum in it as well that absorbs into the body, directly into the body each and every time you use it. Every.single.day.









Which is one reason I have not used deodorant in nearly 5 years. And once your body adjusts to not using it... I find I don't even need it, except on the rare hot day when I use baking soda and or Lavender Oil.


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## Lemon Juice (Jun 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
Which is one reason I have not used deodorant in nearly 5 years. And once your body adjusts to not using it... I find I don't even need it, except on the rare hot day when I use baking soda and or Lavender Oil.

Me too! Great isn't it?! I use BS when needed..but not lately since the weather is cool. I haven't done the LO...thanks for the tip







Feels good to be free, doesn't it?!


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lemon Juice* 
Me too! Great isn't it?! I use BS when needed..but not lately since the weather is cool. I haven't done the LO...thanks for the tip







Feels good to be free, doesn't it?!









Yes.. especially since deodorant was causing me to break out, and the "natural" stuff was even worse than Secret. After about 6 weeks of nothing (waiting to clear up) I decided I didn't even need it and haven't had any problems since!


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