WASHINGTON: Lunch box makers have been asked by the government to find a substitute for vinyl, used as lining in 'soft' lunch boxes, because it contains lead. In separate tests, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found the vinyl lining in such lunch boxes containing the metallic element. The CPSC also found that the lead content was so little that such boxes posed no immediate danger to children.
Lead is highly toxic if ingested with potential for brain damage; and young children would be at greater risk, Food and Drug Administration officials said. Health hazards for children include the possibility of developing behavioral disorders and learning disabilities.
The CPSC reported its findings to the FDA which then wrote to lunch box manufacturers and suppliers asking that they find better material to make their lunch boxes. At the same time, CPSC said its tests revealed there was no danger to children from the lunch boxes.
A health worker observed that the CPSC did not conduct tests to prove whether the lead was migrating from the vinyl lining into the food packed inside. It did say how much lead exposure can prove dangerous: if children rubbed these boxes and licked their hands more than 600 times a day for 15 to 30 days, then the poison would be enough to take effect, a CPSC spokesperson said.
Lead may be used by lunch box makers because of qualities like flexibility and softness, an FDA official said. The raw material is part of a compound used to make the vinyl lining.
