Reviews by Room ➜ Kitchen ➜ Dishware
Non Toxic Dishes and Plates
Dr. Meg Christensen is the founder of Interior Medicine, a physician-created resource on non-toxic home products and household exposures. Her layer-by-layer analysis of materials and products draws on her background in medicine, biochemistry, epidemiology, and clinical research.
Updated May 2026
Non toxic dishes made of tempered glass, stainless steel, ceramic, safer silicone, bamboo, and other less toxic plastic alternatives. If you have questions about lead, glazes, or Prop 65 warnings, read my Metal Guide, Coatings Guide, and Part 2 of my course for satisfying answers.
Ceramic and Stoneware
My favorite ceramic dinner ware brand. Fable is great because their dishes are beautiful and trendy, a tad less spendy than other brands, and they go beyond Prop 65 compliance by doing a separate lead and cadmium leach test. While I generally think Prop 65 is a high standard for ceramics, I do appreciate this extra step of assurance and overall commitment to sustainability.
These ceramic plates are unique because they come with a chip-free guarantee for a year. While the word “china” sounds delicate, it’s actually a very strong type of ceramic clay, and these are commonly used in restaurants for that reason. Made in England, these are free of lead and cadmium, and are Prop 65 compliant.
Long lead and cadmium free, all of IKEA’s ceramic and stoneware plates easily meet Prop 65 requirements, and are amazingly affordable. While imperfect, I prefer IKEA over other big box stores because of their long-term commitment to higher health standards and tighter control over their supply chain — as opposed to say, Target or Amazon, which carries many brands of dishes made in many different places. This set above is really pretty, and is one of several choices.
Year and Day
These ceramic plates come up whenever you google non toxic plates, so I get a fair number of questions about whether that’s true or not. I’m happy to report that their ceramic plates are very healthy— they’re made in Portugal with lead and cadmium free clay, and are Prop 65 compliant. (Their outdoor plates might be OK, but I prefer Ekobo for that category — read more below.)
Corelle’s affordable glass dinnerware is made of three layers — a glass inner core, with a glass “glaze” thermally bonded to it on either side, called Vitrelle. They’re tempered, so are durable enough to resist cracking, chipping, and temperature changes. They’re also microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe! Since 2000, they are completely lead-free, including any decorative patterns. There is a chance there is a small amount of cadmium in the current decorations, as explained on their AB1200 website page, but it is in very tiny quantities that meets FDA standards. Best to get plain undecorated white if that feels uncomfortable to you. A basic, affordable, and healthy choice.
Made in France, Duralex glass dinnerware is an ultra-healthy glass option without any glaze. Tempered and 2.5x stronger than regular glass, these are colored with minerals, which are melted and become completely integrated into the glass matrix. Though essentially all glass (besides old fashioned leaded crystal) is lead free, they confirm that they are Prop 65 compliant and totally free of lead and cadmium. Tamara Rubin has tested the colored ones, and they are free of other heavy metals, as well.
Stainless Steel
Snow Peak Stainless
Made of pure Japanese stainless steel, this dinner set from Snow Peak comes with 4 plates, 4 small bowls, 4 big bowls, and 4 plate-bowls. Obviously not everyone’s kitchen aesthetic, stainless steel is a nice option if you have kids that might break ceramic or glass, and these also have a more adult-like look than other kid-friendly options. Also great for transitioning to outdoors or camping. (If you’re curious why I have these listed instead of Ahimsa, you can read more in the information section below.)
Avanchy’s stainless steel plates and bowls are great for kids, and come in round and divided options with a non-food contact silicone gripper base that keeps it neatly on the table. These are a healthy, straightforward option. (FYI, their bamboo options are so-so from a health perspective, like the other options below, because bamboo requires so much glue for its pieces to stay together. And, Avanchy’s bamboo plates are then finished with mineral oil. It’s a food safe oil, but if you’re choosing between the two, the stainless steel is a healthier option.)
Glass
Less Toxic Plastic Alternatives
These are the best bamboo fiber plates because you actually know what they’re made of! These plates are dishwasher safe and look and function like regular plates, but of course, aren’t breakable. Most brands aren’t straightforward at all about what is in their mixture (including Year and Day, who didn’t respond to my questions), but Ekobo clearly states they use about 50% bamboo and 50% melamine binder. Melamine is basically a pre-plastic and it’s so so in terms of safety. With modern versions like this, a a very small amount may leach out of under warm, acidic conditions like tomato soup, but it generally doesn’t with regular use. You can read about the specifics here. So, not perfectly healthy, but convenient, and I appreciate their transparency.
These wooden bowls are each made from a single piece of beech wood that comes from Michigan, so no glues are present whatsoever. They’re finished with Bee’s Oil, a super-popular finish for wooden bowls that’s a blend of beeswax and food-safe mineral oil. While imperfect, I consider this a better choice than polyurethanes or synthetic shellac, and I will continue my hunt for plant-based finished bowls, though they don’t seem to exist unless you make them yourself at this point. You can read more about what mineral oil is and if it’s truly food safe below. Another imperfect but unbreakable and better-than-plastic alternative!
There are essentially 3 grades of silicone for non-medical use: regular, food-grade, and platinum-cured. Most of the dishware options on the market are food-grade, which is good, and means there are fewer impurities than what is in regular silicone without certification. However, platinum-cured is even safer, and is sloooowly becoming more popular. Ribbon makes dishware with platinum-cured silicone, and, I love that it’s look is good for adults, and the material is great for kids. FYI, silicon (no e) is a naturally occurring element; silicone is a synthetic material made with a combination of silicon, oxygen, and a variety of other additives to make the soft rubber-like plates above. It’s all about the additives used that determine the health of the final material, and these are pretty good.
Not seeing the product or brand you’re curious about? Ask me here.
FYI ➜ “Non-toxic” doesn’t have a definition, and I use the words chemical-free, toxin, and toxic on Interior Medicine inaccurately. I do this for practical purposes, for now: they’re accessible terms that allow people to find what they’re looking for, and they’re shorthand for a complicated problem. I made an entire (free!) course about this. Check it out here.
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More About Non-Toxic Dishes
Are Ahimsa dishes safe?
Unlike many non-toxic website, I’m not actually wild about Ahimsa for a few reasons.
First, their FAQ states that their stainless steel plates are coated with titanium using Physical Vapor Deposition. While I love titanium for how chemically inert it is, PVD is used to vaporize titanium and make it nano-sized. I do not like nanotitanium (or any nanomaterial) yet — we still don’t know if they are safe, and when they’re used on dinnerware, I am extra cautious. Yes, these dishes are MADE SAFE certified, but as I explain here in my Fabric Guide, MADE SAFE is still a pretty opaque certification, and while it’s not worthless, I don’t know exactly what they allow and at what limits.
Second, their testing to ensure no chemical transfer to food is a bit vague for me — the statement “We go above and beyond FDA standards and have created our own Ahimsa standard based on more stringent standards from Europe” is not as reassuring as stating the actual testing they did and displaying the results.
Finally, I’ve heard that the coating scratches easily, especially if you use the dishwasher for them. Even if the coating is inert, inadvertently eating flakes of it is never a good idea for health.
For now, I prefer regular, uncoated or polished stainless steel, and non-nano titanium plates for adults and kids.
Is mineral oil safe?
Now it is relatively safe, as long as it is highly refined and purified. Mineral oil comes from petroleum, and in the past, it wasn’t refined as well, so it contained carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other impurities. Now, the refining process is better, and highly refined and purified mineral oil is generally considered safe for use in cosmetics and food. It is not known to be carcinogenic to you in this version of itself and is an ingredient in candies like Swedish Fish, and is applied to many cutting boards and wooden utensils and serving dishes because of its water resistance. I consider it so-so. It is not directly carcinogenic to you, but it depends on petroleum extraction, solvents, and refineries, which is not good for people or planet long term, and I don’t consider it as safe as a plant-based finish. Still, I understand it’s convenience, and I think it’s a better choice than 100% shellac or polyurethane finishes.
Are milk glass dishes safe?
Yes, modern milk glass, also called opal glass, is safe. It is a combination of glass, which is a very healthy material, mixed with opacifiers to give it its signature milky, or opaque, look. The most common opacifiers used today are titanium dioxide (also used in sunscreen) and tin oxide (considered safe, even by the EWG.) These are mixed in with the glass during the melting process, and are generally inert, not leaching out.
In the past, bone ash (from animal bones) and various lead and cadmium -containing compounds were used. Vintage milk glass, especially when used with hot, acidic, or fatty foods, can leach these into your meal or drink.
Reviews by Room ➜ Kitchen ➜ Dishware