Question from petercsantoro@yahoo.com
I just bought the Bamix immersion blender for quickly chopping, pureeing, mixing, etc. without having to take apart my blender and clean it every time. It seems like a great tool and has received all great reviews. But before I use it, I was hoping to get your opinion.
The drive shaft is stainless steel, and the detachable parts that do the chopping, pureeing, etc., seem to be chromium plated. Will this leech chemicals into the food I am preparing? If so, then it’s not worth it, and I will stick with the manual labor of chopping myself and cleaning the blender.
It was expensive, but seemed like such a handy tool, especially for pureeing baby food. I am still thinking about the Vitamix blender, which I believe you have, but am hesitant on spending the money. Is it easy to clean? I know it’s plastic but BPA free, so less worrisome.
I appreciate your opinion! Thanks again, Debra!
Debra’s Answer
I doubt there will be any leaching, as leaching from metals into food requires considerable contact time. This is not something I am concerned about.
I have a Cuisinart immersion blender and I love it. I use my Vitamix for making smoothies and crushed ice, but my immersion blender is perfect for pureeing vegetable soups.
Hi Debra—
Any new info on what immersion blender is safest?
No new information.
I think I would blend some food with the device and then take it and some of the same food that was not blended to a chiropractor who does muscle testing and see if the blended food is weakening to the body in comparison with the unblended food. Clearly there could be other variables involved and this may not be “scientific” but it would be interesting information nevertheless. Also, it may depend on the age of the device and how often it has been used as to whether there is more leakage.
I too have contacted All Clad – at least to find out if any parts are made in China. That would be an indictor of a problem. My question to Liz would be if she sees any type of plastic under the hood of the immersion part of the blender. If so I would be wary of it – but am very curious about All Clad because it does seem like it’s higher quality.
Andrea — I do not see any plastic in the part of the blender that is immersed, but I can’t see inside the opening of the blade assembly. It seems tightly sealed, but we are not supposed to wash it in the dishwasher which makes me wonder about that seal and the one on top of that part. I’ll see if the Consumer Product Safety Commission has anything to say. I posted a one-star review on Amazon because of All-Clad’s reluctance to share information, and no one–including All-Clad–has commented on my rating, though 3 people found the review helpful. UGH…I guess people don’t care any more than All-Clad.
Debra and Deanna,
After researching this, I decided to purchase one of the brands that showed no contamination. Unfortunately this meant ordering from Europe where they ban chlorinated paraffins. This also meant that I needed to order a voltage adaptor which I have not received yet. I know that Cuisineart products are made in China and products from China were implicated in this study. If my stick blender works with the adaptor I will let you know here. I will also be writing a follow-up with safer options.
I have been emailing All-Clad about the expensive immersion blender we bought recently and they are not forthcoming about the possibility of toxins inside the device that may leak out. Here is what they told me: 1) “While we cannot disclose the details of our manufacturing process as it is considered trade information, we can state that our products are tested and determined safe for use by the appropriate regulatory agencies.” 2) “testing results are consider trade information and therefore are unavailable.” 3) “as previously discussed our products are tested and certified as safe by organizations such as the United Laboratories.” Debra — do you know if products like this would be tested for leakage of toxic substances? Do you know if there is a regulatory agency a consumer could contact to see if the product was tested for chlorinated paraffin? We use this blender a lot, and All-Clad’s communications make me think they either have something to hide, or that they don’t know, or they hope I will just go away. Any advice how to pursue this issue would be much appreciated!
Well, I can say that there are many toxic chemicals that are not tested for because they are not considered toxic by the government, despite much literature and evidence to the contrary. Many products have not been tested for toxics.
I would start by contacting the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Hi Debra. At your suggestion, on 11/19/14 I sent the Consumer Product Safety Commission a message from their website with a link to the study about the contaminated blenders and the question “Can you please tell me if testing for leaching chemicals such as this is part of the testing required for immersion blenders?” Their auto-reply said “Thank you for contacting CPSC. We take all inquiries seriously. The CPSC staffer whom you contacted will either respond to you or forward this message to another person within the agency who can best help you.” But I never received any further replies, so yesterday my husband called their office and he was told they only handle recalled products. That response seems bizarre for an agency that’s supposed to protect us against unsafe products (yeah, right). Do you know how they are supposed to respond when someone questions whether a product is safe? Any suggestions for further action? Thanks!
Here’s the link where you can file a report on an unsafe product to the Consumer Product Safety Commission: https://www.saferproducts.gov/CPSRMSPublic/Incidents/ReportIncident.aspx. On that same page you can click on Search Recalls & Reports to search the Consumer Product Safety Information Database. You can all now post unsafe products and they will be part of the database, where the public can see them. There is a lot of information on their site about what they do and consumer safety laws.
We just got an All Clad immersion blender because our Cuisinart stick blender kept breaking. The All Clad seemed more heavy duty because it’s made with much less plastic than other brands, and they say it’s used in commercial kitchens. We purchased, of course, before your post about leaking toxins. So I contacted All Clad to see what they would tell me. Like usual, not much… “We thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns. While we cannot disclose the details of our manufacturing process as it is considered trade information, we can state that our products are tested and determined safe for use by the appropriate regulatory agencies.” I highly doubt that there are regulatory agencies policing immersion blenders, but I’m going to ask for specifics. If anyone else has contacted other manufacturers I’d love to know. We use this type of blender a lot!
I also love my vitamix & quisinart immersion blender. BUT I just came across this survey of stick blenders leaching toxins into food! And now worried that my stick blender is not safe. What do you think Debra? http://it-takes-time.com/2014/10/stick-blender-contaminating-food.html
Interesting. If I knew an immersion blender was leaking these chemicals, I wouldn’t use it. I have a Cuisinart immersion blender. I love it, but don’t use it that much. This is another case of “don’t know.” And I’m not sure the companies know. If anyone wants to call around I’m happy to publish whatever you find here.