KitchenAid Lawsuit Investigation: Lead in Stand Mixer Attachments?

Attorneys are investigating whether a class action lawsuit can be filed on behalf of consumers who’ve purchased a KitchenAid stand mixer.

They have reason to believe the cast aluminum attachments that come standard with the mixers could be contaminated with lead, a heavy metal that has been linked to a host of health effects including developmental problems in children and pregnancy complications.

The attorneys are investigating whether a class action lawsuit can be filed over the issue – but first, they need to hear from consumers who’ve purchased the stand mixers.

Do KitchenAid Mixers Have Lead?

Attorneys believe it’s not the mixers themselves that could contain lead, but the cast aluminum attachments that come default on the appliances, such as the dough hooks and paddles.

KitchenAid’s stainless steel attachments, on the other hand, are suspected to be lead free. Unfortunately, these must be purchased separately and at an additional cost, meaning consumers would need to go out of pocket to obtain potentially safer mixing components.

To help mitigate this cost, some have used research performed by award-winning consumer safety advocate Tamara Rubin, also known as the “Lead Safe Mama,” to request KitchenAid replace their cast aluminum attachments with “[l]lead-free stainless steel options” for free.  

Out of the hundreds of KitchenAid mixer attachments reportedly tested by Rubin, “nearly all” were found to be contaminated with lead.

In one example, a KitchenAid dough hook reportedly tested positive for lead at a level of 2,434 parts per million (ppm). For reference, the Consumer Product Safety Commission states that products used by children, a group particularly susceptible to the health effects of lead exposure, must not contain more than 100 ppm of total lead content in “accessible parts.”

According to the World Health Organization, however, “there is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.”

Is This Why My KitchenAid Mixer Has a Prop 65 Warning?

Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, is a law requiring businesses to provide warnings to California residents about “significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

Despite the law being specific to California, these warnings can be seen by consumers in other states as many companies put the labels on all products containing chemicals on the Prop 65 list, even if the items are also sold elsewhere.

For instance, the specifications for a number of stand mixers listed on the KitchenAid website contain a Prop 65 warning stating: “CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ONLY – WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm – www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.”

While the warning above does not specify the chemical at issue, lead is currently on the Prop 65 list. 

How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help?

If filed and successful, a class action lawsuit could help consumers get some money back for their mixers. It could also potentially force the manufacturer to relabel these appliances, change how the attachments are made or even recall the products.

Before commenting, please review our comment policy.