When it comes to being an amateur chef, aluminum cookware ticks off a lot of boxes. It’s usually more affordable, lighter, and is known to cook food evenly and quickly. But there is one big question that has loomed over it for the longest time: how safe is it to use, really?
On November 24, 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration added nine additional aluminum cookware items to its existing list of cooking products that may cause lead exposure. The original report, released on December 12, 2024, warned retailers and consumers about the FDA’s initial findings before listing manufacturers and products it officially flagged as hazardous in August of this year.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning retailers and consumers not to sell or use certain imported cookware that may leach significant levels of lead (Pb) into food,” writes the FDA in an official statement on its website. “Some types of imported cookware products made from aluminum, brass, and aluminum alloys known as Hindalium/Hindolium or Indalium/Indolium have been tested by FDA and state partners, and have demonstrated the potential to leach lead under conditions designed to mimic their use in contact with food.”
Before you crash out on a potential holiday food disaster, experts say there are a few things to consider before taking drastic measures. “It is a concern, and that’s why the FDA is taking action,” says Lara Adler, certified holistic health coach and environmental health educator. “[But] I don’t think it’s necessary to panic.”
Is your aluminum cookware safe?
For the most part, you might not have to worry about your current cookware—if you’re buying it from a well-known brand or retailer. “You’re not finding [hazardous] cookware at a large retailer because the buyers at those stores have a lot more liability if they are buying a container ship filled with hundreds of thousands of units of contaminated product,” says Adler. “Whereas these smaller shops that can buy directly from manufacturers overseas, they don’t have the same perceived liability.”
At least for now, the manufacturer’s country of origin is what matters most in these findings. Most of the products that the FDA flagged were manufactured overseas in countries such as India or Pakistan. And though the FDA lists aluminum, brass, and aluminum alloy as the materials it tested and found lead in, Adler says that it might not apply to all aluminum cookware. Anything made in the US or that has some certification that meets FDA or EU migration limits for heavy metals should be fine. But, if you can’t verify where you got your aluminum or brass cookware, and they look similar to the ones listed by the FDA, she recommends throwing them out immediately to be safe. “These are not items that you want to keep around or continue to use,” she says.
How are you exposed to lead while cooking?
According to Maida P. Galvez, MD, MPH, professor of environmental medicine and pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, lead can be drawn out of hazardous cookware when it is heated. This will then contaminate food and expose you to it. This is especially true when you’re cooking acidic foods, which, Dr. Galvez says, will cause lead to be drawn out more.
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