3 ms·

What’s wrong with her reporting on Kitchen Aid and what’s a better resource?

infecto 3y ago
As far as anyone can tell there has been no additional proof beyond hers. I was quite concerned because I caught wind of it via a Reddit cooking subreddit and from what I could tell there was no contamination. Never a recall, KitchenAid never changed their tune. Some individuals had tested theirs, no issues. So at the end of the day who really knows. I am sure some of the things she tests is truthful but the problem is her testing does not have the greatest standards and the way she comes across seems manic. These sorts of things require rigorous testing and you can never be wrong. Sadly no other resources that I know of. These are the sorts of things that if not the government, a third party nonprofit type rating agency does. Her mom groups are filled with panicked and freaked out individuals which is not wha tit should be.
- reducesuffering 3y ago
  "She has started a handful of scares" All she's doing is testing everything under the sun for lead amounts in common household items, while being certified to do so with her own XRF, and then writing about it so that others without XRF can know. Meanwhile, everyone else is busy drinking out of lead glazed mugs, touching leaded door handles 10 times a day, toddlers sucking in leaded toys, eating high lead chocolate. Then after 30 years they got a blood panel that says their lead levels are high, and probably have been for 30 years. People are woefully unaware how much lead still permeates soo much around us still, and she's one of the few bringing awareness to it.
  - noname10293 3y ago
    "Certified to do so with her own XRF"? What certification are you referring to here? Mere possession of a costly, sophisticated device poorly understood by most can hardly count. Does owner even understand what goes into calibrating an XRF?
    - gregwebs 3y ago
      She calibrates before every test. She has probably done more XRF tests than anyone criticizing her, including those doing it by proxy in this thread. Here's a training certificate. It's an 8 hour full day course: https://tamararubin.com/2017/09/tamaras-xrf-training-certificate-february-3-2009/ https://tamararubin.com/2017/09/tamaras-xrf-training-certifi...
      - infecto 3y ago
        Think your parent was overly harsh but your reply highlights why I don’t know what to think about her results. My point still stands, she may be finding actual items but her lack of easily digestible information and constant self promotion makes it hard to know if the results are real? I would ask again, what about the KitchenAid mixer scare? Was it real or not? She makes a large number of claims and it’s hard to understand how many were truly accurate.
        gregwebs 3y ago
        Do you have any sources of information about issues with the reporting on lead contamination? although if someone else found a negative result that’s not necessarily surprising. Lead contamination can change from year to year aa manufacturing processes are altered and Rhee can just be batches of contaminated material.
  - infecto 3y ago
    Sorry but your post reads like one of her Facebook mom groups where everyone is panicking. Note: I think lead is a very real issue that unfortunately contaminates a lot of products. I have not don’t a full blown investigative review of her but every time I have dug a little bit based on some recent post, this is what I come to the conclusion of. Her website is very hard to parse through. For me, it always reads as one of those “you may have cancer” ads mixed with some antivax Facebook mom groups. Every post about lead contamination does not go deep into the science. Did she calibrate the machine? What are the specifics about her machine? Does the material/item she is testing need modification for testing accuracy? She mentions many times she is qualified but seems like only a bare qualification from the manufacturer. That and I never see a picture of her lab. Does she ever follow up her hand held test with a lab test to confirm? One to eliminate any inaccuracy in her device and two to have a confirmation of her results? She makes all these posts, Costco salt has unsafe lead levels, la crueset has lead, kitchenaid mixers have lead, etc. It needs to be followed up with additional, lab qualified testing. She undoubtedly finds items with lead but I just cannot trust her methodology. My family and I get regular lead tests and we are conscious consumers but I cannot follow her style of scare mongering. And let me say it again, she definitely finds things with lead in them but without some type of scientific rigor and verification, it’s hard to trust her results.
    - gregwebs 3y ago
      I do find her website a little bewildering so I can see why you would react with such a mindset. But a minute googling answers most of your questions: https://tamararubin.com/2016/12/ask-tamara-what-do-you-use-to-test-for-lead/ https://tamararubin.com/2016/12/ask-tamara-what-do-you-use-t... It seems like there's a misunderstanding about the technique being used. An XRF gun is a portable device that works in the field and does not require to be operated in a lab. For most of the consumer goods she is testing she is already using a highly sensitive piece of equipment that measures ppb- it wouldn't make sense to "send it to a lab". She is certified in using the equipment and probably one of the most experienced at using it to test consumer goods. The gun she is using is self-calibrating to begin with, but still calibrated for each test. I actually think most of the problem here is that her website has an unprofessional appearance. If it had the professional appearance you were expecting and she had a university degree in chemistry or material science but posted almost the exact same information with perhaps a few minor edits and a slightly different style I think it would have the scientific look and feel you and others are looing for. But the underlying science of using an XRF gun to test for lead seems quite sound.

As far as anyone can tell there has been no additional proof beyond hers. I was quite concerned because I caught wind of it via a Reddit cooking subreddit and from what I could tell there was no contamination. Never a recall, KitchenAid never changed their tune. Some individuals had tested theirs, no issues. So at the end of the day who really knows. I am sure some of the things she tests is truthful but the problem is her testing does not have the greatest standards and the way she comes across seems manic. These sorts of things require rigorous testing and you can never be wrong. Sadly no other resources that I know of. These are the sorts of things that if not the government, a third party nonprofit type rating agency does. Her mom groups are filled with panicked and freaked out individuals which is not wha tit should be.

reducesuffering 3y ago
"She has started a handful of scares" All she's doing is testing everything under the sun for lead amounts in common household items, while being certified to do so with her own XRF, and then writing about it so that others without XRF can know. Meanwhile, everyone else is busy drinking out of lead glazed mugs, touching leaded door handles 10 times a day, toddlers sucking in leaded toys, eating high lead chocolate. Then after 30 years they got a blood panel that says their lead levels are high, and probably have been for 30 years. People are woefully unaware how much lead still permeates soo much around us still, and she's one of the few bringing awareness to it.
- noname10293 3y ago
  "Certified to do so with her own XRF"? What certification are you referring to here? Mere possession of a costly, sophisticated device poorly understood by most can hardly count. Does owner even understand what goes into calibrating an XRF?
  - gregwebs 3y ago
    She calibrates before every test. She has probably done more XRF tests than anyone criticizing her, including those doing it by proxy in this thread. Here's a training certificate. It's an 8 hour full day course: https://tamararubin.com/2017/09/tamaras-xrf-training-certificate-february-3-2009/ https://tamararubin.com/2017/09/tamaras-xrf-training-certifi...
    - infecto 3y ago
      Think your parent was overly harsh but your reply highlights why I don’t know what to think about her results. My point still stands, she may be finding actual items but her lack of easily digestible information and constant self promotion makes it hard to know if the results are real? I would ask again, what about the KitchenAid mixer scare? Was it real or not? She makes a large number of claims and it’s hard to understand how many were truly accurate.
      - gregwebs 3y ago
        Do you have any sources of information about issues with the reporting on lead contamination? although if someone else found a negative result that’s not necessarily surprising. Lead contamination can change from year to year aa manufacturing processes are altered and Rhee can just be batches of contaminated material.
- infecto 3y ago
  Sorry but your post reads like one of her Facebook mom groups where everyone is panicking. Note: I think lead is a very real issue that unfortunately contaminates a lot of products. I have not don’t a full blown investigative review of her but every time I have dug a little bit based on some recent post, this is what I come to the conclusion of. Her website is very hard to parse through. For me, it always reads as one of those “you may have cancer” ads mixed with some antivax Facebook mom groups. Every post about lead contamination does not go deep into the science. Did she calibrate the machine? What are the specifics about her machine? Does the material/item she is testing need modification for testing accuracy? She mentions many times she is qualified but seems like only a bare qualification from the manufacturer. That and I never see a picture of her lab. Does she ever follow up her hand held test with a lab test to confirm? One to eliminate any inaccuracy in her device and two to have a confirmation of her results? She makes all these posts, Costco salt has unsafe lead levels, la crueset has lead, kitchenaid mixers have lead, etc. It needs to be followed up with additional, lab qualified testing. She undoubtedly finds items with lead but I just cannot trust her methodology. My family and I get regular lead tests and we are conscious consumers but I cannot follow her style of scare mongering. And let me say it again, she definitely finds things with lead in them but without some type of scientific rigor and verification, it’s hard to trust her results.
  - gregwebs 3y ago
    I do find her website a little bewildering so I can see why you would react with such a mindset. But a minute googling answers most of your questions: https://tamararubin.com/2016/12/ask-tamara-what-do-you-use-to-test-for-lead/ https://tamararubin.com/2016/12/ask-tamara-what-do-you-use-t... It seems like there's a misunderstanding about the technique being used. An XRF gun is a portable device that works in the field and does not require to be operated in a lab. For most of the consumer goods she is testing she is already using a highly sensitive piece of equipment that measures ppb- it wouldn't make sense to "send it to a lab". She is certified in using the equipment and probably one of the most experienced at using it to test consumer goods. The gun she is using is self-calibrating to begin with, but still calibrated for each test. I actually think most of the problem here is that her website has an unprofessional appearance. If it had the professional appearance you were expecting and she had a university degree in chemistry or material science but posted almost the exact same information with perhaps a few minor edits and a slightly different style I think it would have the scientific look and feel you and others are looing for. But the underlying science of using an XRF gun to test for lead seems quite sound.