Melamine Dishes – Pros an Cons

An Overview of Melamine Dishes

Melamine dish sets became extremely popular in the 1940’s. At the time, they were commonly used for dinner parties, and entertaining guests. People took great pride in the many patterns and colors of their dishwares. Eventually, the craze for dish sets died down, and they became more popular for camping trips and picnics. Lately melatline dishes have come back into style, but so have concerns about the safety of eating off of them.

  • Are melamine dinnerwares safe? According to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consuming food and drink from melamine tableware is completely safe if some key melamine dishes marching kitguidelines are followed. Melatline dishes are not supposed to be microwaved, or exposed to high heat or acidic foods for an extended period of time. This is because of the risk of over-exposure to the chemicals present in the melatline resin that the dishwares are made of is, in fact, dangerous.

Overexposure to melatline can case renal problems. However, the FDA states that normal use of these tablewares, as directed, is not cause for significant concern about one’s health. Therefore, while the answer to the question “ Are they safe ?” is a bit circumstantial, it’s also yes.

Are Melamine Dishes Unbreakable?

Not always, if melamine diashwares are handled too roughly, or are heated to extremes, they will crack or chip on the edges. However, usually if melatline dinnerwares are dropped on the floor, they will stay in one piece. They do not tend to break easily during regular and reasonable wear and tear.

Melamine Baby Dishes

baby's melamine dishesMany parents are apprehensive about allowing their children to eat form melatline baby dishes. This is because of the health concerns about extended exposure to melatline, and about  leaching into food put onto the dinnerwares. According to the FDA, the amount of melamine that leaches into food on average when the baby dishwares are used as directed, is not a major health concern.

  • However, it is understandable that some parents would choose possibly safer options such as bamboo or stainless steel for their children. The pros of melatline baby tablewares are that they stand up extremely well to all of the wear and tear small children sometimes put on dishes, such as banging them on the table, or even throwing them.

In addition, melamine baby dinnerwares are sold with patterns or images on them that are meant to appeal to children, such as their favorite cartoon character. The benefit to this is that sometimes finicky eaters will be more likely to sit down and eat their meal if such favorites are involved to catch their attention.

Melamine Christmas Dishes

Melamine Christmas dishwares can be a fun way to brighten up the kids table during the holiday meal, or just to make a morning cup of coffee more festive. It is available all over during the holiday season, even in the dollar store. However, those that truly appreciate quality melatline dinnerwares, and really love the effect of a truly festively patterned dish can find affordable vintage melamine dishes that are also Christmas melatline dishes online.