Instant Pot
Instant Pot tolerates plastic where an appliance realistically needs it, but keeps it mostly out of the food path. The food- and steam-contact parts are 304 stainless — inner pot, lid underside, anti-block shield — with a silicone sealing ring as the only non-metal touching food or steam. Plastic is real here, but it lives in the outer lid housing, controls, and accessories rather than where your food goes.
How clear are their specs?
The stainless inner pot and silicone ring are clearly identified, but the plastic outer housing, valves, and included accessories are described more by function than by named polymer.
Lead testing disclosure
No brand-published lead/cadmium testing page or lab report found. What exists is independent XRF testing (Lead Safe Mama) of the metal heating element/safety button, which found several hundred ppm of lead there (food-contact stainless parts came back non-detect) - a mixed result that Instant Pot has not addressed with its own testing or promoted.
- lab-test https://tamararubin.com/2018/08/asktamara-does-your-instant-pot-have-lead-xrf-test-results-for-a-6-quart-instant-pot-purchased-in-july-2018-from-amazon/ independent XRF testing found lead in the heating element/safety button, not the food-contact steel
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