Stainless Steel wok from China safe? [Archive]

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CathyA

DS wants a wok for Christmas. We don't use nonstick, so the options are stainless steel or carbon steel. I don't like carbon steel because no matter how well I take care of it, I can taste iron.
I ordered a Wolfgang Puck wok from Best Buy (had the best price), then realized its made in China. Then I saw an even less expensive one on Amazon from Cuisinart.....but I think its made in China too. I believe one of the few that are made in the U.S. is All Clad. Unfortunately, it is $200-300, whereas these other 2 are around $30. Do you think its fairly safe to use stainless steel for cooking from China?
Dang.......I'm really started to realize how much of EVERYTHING we use is from China. :(
I don't like using drinkware or dishes from China. But do you think stainless steel is okay. Dang.

bunnys

Who knows?

If you're concerned and you're going to ingest food that you cooked on it, I'd say, don't buy it. Safe or no, every time you eat something you made in it, you'll worry.

I'm not really paying attention myself but I'll never buy those Waggin' Train Chicken Jerky Strips for my dog again. They're made in China and dogs by the score have been getting sick and dying from them but because it's pet food the FDA doesn't really care enough to test/investigate in the same way as human food. I had of course thought "melamine." But they have tested it for melamine and it doesn't have it. However it is irradiated at a rate much higher than is allowed for human food (but ok for agricultural products) and so the dogs are probably dying because they get intestinal sickness of bloody diarrhea and God knows what else and that's killing them but the FDA lets them irradiate at any rate they want because it's not a food additive. So meanwhile these dogs are dying because of this crap.

I wouldn't trust China when it comes to something I eat or in any other way could be absorbed by my body.

Rosemary

Almost all cookware is made in China now - or Indonesia, where labor is even cheaper. I personally don't worry about it, particularly if the alloy is stated somewhere on it (18/10, for instance). You could contact the company for details if really concerned.

The issue with plates, etc would be a lead-containing glaze. What concerns do you have about drinking glasses or stainless cookware?

ApatheticNoMore

I can't imagine you'd really have anything to worry about because how can you contaminate stainless steel, I don't even think that's possible.

Of course you could look for used, a wok is kind of obscure for the thrift store, but there's probably a nice used stainsteel maybe even American made wok on Ebay.


I don't like using drinkware or dishes from China.

I only use glass for drinkware and dishes. While there used to be such a thing as leaded glass (yea it contained lead), I don't think they make that anymore.

Yes, I've done quite a bit of research on cookware and safety.

lhamo

I use a Chinese-made stainless steel wok and it is great. ASD brand, if that is available and you want to check it out. They make good products. Stay away from Supor -- much lower quality.

FWIW, we've been living in China since , consuming and using a large percentage of Chinese-made stuff (including milk!) and we're not dead or impaired yet.

lhamo

bae

I can't imagine you'd really have anything to worry about because how can you contaminate stainless steel, I don't even think that's possible.


The key is making sure it is really food-grade stainless steel, and not some toxic concoction of stainless-steel-like alloys.

That said, there seems to be a wave of anti-China jingoism sweeping the USA. Not all Chinese producers are evil dog/baby-poisoning monsters, you know... :-)

creaker

The key is making sure it is really food-grade stainless steel, and not some toxic concoction of stainless-steel-like alloys.

That said, there seems to be a wave of anti-China jingoism sweeping the USA. Not all Chinese producers are evil dog/baby-poisoning monsters, you know... :-)

And only some dogs bite - but I would recommend caution approaching any dog you don't know well.

sweetana3

I think there needs to be some balance. The USA also has some pretty horrible stories about food and drugs and whatever. Just read about the exposed to fungal meningitis due to contamintated product or ecoli, salmonella, listeria contaminated foods.

I agree that I would prefer to eat locally (although cantalope from our state sickened many) but worry about stainless steel?

I am curious if those concerned with China also include India, Bangladesh, South America, Africa, or other countries/areas or is this exclusively a China concern?

bae

I seem to recall the Austrians shipping wine flavored with antifreeze. The French just sell you mislabelled cheap wine from Algeria as expensive wine, or doctor up their own expensive wine with a lot of cheap wine. Italian winemakers seem fond of using wood alcohol instead.

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Jilly

Amen, baby.

Float On

Technically shouldn't China be the best source for a wok? I mean, you do use a wok to make chinese food, right?

(couldn't resist)

CathyA

LOL Float On.........I just said that to DH at dinner tonight!

Rosemary

Just to set the record straight on glass: leaded glass is heavy, far heavier than regular glassware. It contains lead in the form of lead oxides, and the content is usually stated on a sticker (e.g. 24% lead oxide). This is "lead crystal." People have used lead crystal for a long time and the only concerns I'm aware of are storing acidic beverages such as wine in it for the long term (which can cause leaching). So as far as I can see, no need to worry about glassware.

My metallurgy training was long ago but if I recall correctly, stainless steel alloys have very specific ranges of contents within which the alloys work properly. So different metals can't just be tossed in willy-nilly. That said, occasionally there are articles about stainless steel items that have been found to be radioactive due to use of recycled stainless steel from nuclear applications having been handled in the same factory.

CathyA

Oh Gee Rosemary......maybe I should buy a Geiger counter too, before giving this wok to my son? lol.
I guess its best to not buy stuff from Japan for awhile!
You might be the person to ask this of: In looking for a wok, I decided on a Wolfgang Puck stainless steel wok. The only info I can find says that its made of 0.7 mm stainless steel. But the one from Cuisinart (which costs the same) only says that its 18/10 stainless steel. I'm trying to decide which indicates a better pan............or are these two numbers like apples and oranges? I'm thinking the 0.7mm is about the weight and the 18/10 is about the chromium/nickel combination? Which do you think would be a better product? (I get pretty anal about these things).
Thanks!

Rosemary

I think either would be fine. For general cooking a heavy pan is good - but when stir-frying, you want fast and hot heat. So I wouldn't worry excessively about the weight of the pan. 18/10 is better than other stainless alloys for cookware and flatware, but honestly? My mom's stainless pans from the s are still going strong and she has always cooked a lot.

And one last comment... my cookware set came with a bonus wok, and I've used it a fair amount... but mostly when making a stir-fry for the 3 of us I use my deep 12" skillet, because it's easier to get more of the vegetables exposed to the heat at once.

CathyA

Thanks Rosemary. I'm trying to "read between the lines" in the description of the Wolfgang Puck pan. Maybe saying it is of a certain weight, is an attempt to write something, without saying it ISN'T an 18/10 quality?? I've already ordered it and its on the way, then I saw on Amazon that they have a $100 Cuisinart 18/10 pan for $27.00! I can return the Puck pan to Best Buy and order from Amazon. I just don't want to do it if they're so close in quality. (Oh the pain of having OCD). :~)

msr.marrykay

Most cookware now is from China. The rest are from South East Asia, such as Indonesia or Thailand. Even All-Clad lids are from China, believe it?

I think the origins isn't the big thing to worry about. But the manufacturer's standards are to concerned. The trusted brands can make rely on. When going to stainless steel cookware, you'll think about All-Clad or Tri-Ply, Multi-clad or 18/10 stainless, aren't they? The cheap one, the junk one. Sometimes to spend more means worth.
However, don't forget to check the recalls.

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American steel manufacturers are held to a set of standards created by organizations like The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) that determine the appropriate chemistry mixes for different types of steel. These standards are intended as a safety precaution to ensure the right quality of metal is being used for the right product.

Companies in China are producing steel at a faster rate, flooding the market and dropping prices. It is produced at a rapid rate and it is not held up to the same quality standards as American steel. There are anti-dumping laws in place by the World Trade Organization to prevent foreign companies from exporting, or &#;dumping,&#; goods to the United States at either prices too far below the domestic price or when they flood the market with an excess quantity that is beyond the normal competition. This situation has lead to trade wars headlined by tariffs between the United States and China.

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