Warning re safety issue with bamboo kids' plates and cups

[NameChangeForLocalThread]

DSis gave my 2 year old DD a lovely looking bamboo set with plate, bowl, cup and knife & fork for her birthday in May.

A couple of weeks ago the cup developed a crack from top to bottom so obviously rendered completely unusable.

This evening I've just realised that a sharp little shard of the plate has come loose. Thank goodness I've found the pointy end of the fragment; I'm just hoping DD didn't eat the other bit of it which I'm yet to find.

Anyway, point being that I think there is a significant safety issue with these items for young children in particular and I want to let people know about it.

DSis bought the set on eBay but they are also sold on major online retailers' sites and I've seen them for sale in physical shops. They're marketed to look as though they're decent quality.

I’ve always wondered how porous these bamboo plates are

I wander if we have the same set? DS broke the cup the first day he got it.

the bamboo is usually glued together with melamine making them unsafe to use for hot food/drink...

www.foodpackagingforum.org/news/re-useable-bamboo-cups-tested-and-criticized

Gladly I had a hunch re safety with hot food on these items so mostly used them for sandwiches/snacks. Any hot meals eaten from them were cooled in normal china crockery first (as things cool more quickly like that).

Is melamine not safe to use with hot food?!?

Thanks for warning OP

I'm sure most camping plates and cups are melamine!

Isn't melamine the stuff used for camping plates?

Sometimes I think we're conned into buying extra kids stuff we don't really need. DSs nursery (apart from the baby room) use normal plates, cutlery and glasses!

Should not use ANY wood for plates, bowls and cups. Especially bamboo as it is technically a grass and thus the softest wood of all.
Bacteria thrive in them no matter how much you wash them.

That's not true - wood is naturally anti-bacterial and bamboo particularly so. There's a reason butcher's blocks have traditionally been made of wood for hundreds of years and it's not just because they don't blunt knives.

Sometimes I think we're conned into buying extra kids stuff we don't really need. DSs nursery (apart from the baby room) use normal plates, cutlery and glasses

I agree. I don't actually have room for a cupboard of plastic or bamboo eating implements for DD! Apart from this set which we've received which was a nice gift DD eats/drinks from the same plates/bowls/glasses as I do. No breakages yet...

Ours split too. Annoying.

The ikea plastic childrens stuff has proved pretty sturdy...I find myself constantly second guessing myself these days about the environment! Like for parties/picnics plastic and wash or paper and throw away etc.