Dear Dr. Prater:
Consumer Reports (CR) writes to formally notify the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of concerningly high levels of lead we found in Black & Decker PowerCrush blenders, model number BL1230, manufactured by Spectrum Brands, Inc.
According to an incident report (20260116-C1A14-2147324493) on the CPSC’s SaferProducts.gov public database submitted by a state government agency, which as of Thursday, May 21, 2026, has been taken down, a consumer’s one-year old child underwent an “elevated blood lead level investigation,” which “revealed no lead hazards in the child’s environment except for a blender, which their parent used every day to make their baby food.” The incident report states that “an external component of the blender was made of lead and was shedding lead dust.” The report also stated that further testing showed that the lead dust was contaminating the food processed by the blender. The assessor detected lead levels as high as 3060 parts per billion (ppb), equal to 3.06 parts per million (ppm) in the tested food (see images below).
In response to this report, CR purchased three BL1230 model blenders and conducted comprehensive lead testing on several of the metal components. Our test results confirmed elevated lead levels in two of the blenders. Specifically, we detected lead in a small metal ring in the blade assembly, referred to by the company as a blade holder, that comes into direct contact with food (see image below). We found lead levels exceeding 6000 ppm in one blender, and levels exceeding 4000 ppm in a second blender. We did not detect any lead in the third blender we tested.
To read the full letter, click here.