Is Hobby Lobby Really Selling Lead-Contaminated Dishes?

There’s a video making the rounds on social media that might make you think twice the next time you walk into Hobby Lobby.

A woman is walking through the store with what looks like a little flashlight, checking out all the cute seasonal dishes, cups, bowls, and plates. You know the stuff. Then she shines her light, and some of the items light up bright green around the lettering.

The claim is that she's finding lead contamination on these cute little Hobby Lobby dishes. Things you'll likely eat off of.

It's a bold claim, and one that sent me straight down another rabbit hole.

Is Hobby Lobby Really Selling Lead-Contaminated Dishes?

Well, the answer, if you and I can establish one here, isn't a simple yes or no.

There really is a way to test for lead that involves one of those little UV flashlights. But the flashlight isn't actually detecting lead.

Here's the real science. There is a full process for this that involves rubbing a chemical solution on whatever you're testing. Then a UV light is used to make the chemical reaction visible. When the solution reacts with accessible lead, it produces that bright fluorescent green glow, showing you an instant result.

Here's an important little detail... If a UV flashlight happens to make something glow, that doesn't automatically mean you've found lead. Plenty of things fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Uranium fluoresces under UV light, and even if the chemical test does react, that still doesn't necessarily mean you're about to eat a plateful of lead.

Lead Is Still Used Today, Even On Tableware

Lead is still used in ceramic glazes and decorations. Believe me, you'd be shocked to learn that even some of the highest-end fancy plates and drinkware makers still use lead in their glazes to get the bold colors and vibrant designs to pop.

The bigger question is whether that lead can leach out of the material and into your food... And nobody on social media is interested in finding out that distinction. You know how it is, social media is just "Gotcha" pretend-journalism. They're in it for the views, not the accuracy or integrity, and nobody really cares.

You see how much crap people share around without ever Googling a real answer. People instantly trust the random stranger walking around Hobby Lobby with a flashlight because companies are bad, right?

It is what it is, but that doesn't mean Hobby Lobby is the victim of bad science here either.

The company has had legitimate lead problems with products in the past. Hobby Lobby had to recall a bunch of Halloween items back in 2007 after the Consumer Product Safety Commission found excessive lead in the paint. It happened again just a year later when they recalled Easter items for the same thing.

Those examples are ancient by today's standards. Nearly 20 years old, and while that doesn't prove these new dishes in the viral video are innocent or potentially dangerous, it does poke a massive hole in the "Hobby Lobby wouldn't sell that" argument.

As of now, I haven't found a Hobby Lobby recall or public statement specifically addressing the viral videos involving its current dishware.

Which brings us right back to that video.

There's a very real chemical test that is similar to what she's doing... There's a very real history of lead contamination in some Hobby Lobby products... But there's also a pretty big gap between "this test reacted to something" and "Hobby Lobby is selling dishes that will put dangerous amounts of lead in your food."

Guess the last thing to ask is, who do you trust? An internet stranger making claims, or a conglomerate with a distant past of this exact thing?