Oddly, the bottle of balsamic I *just* bought a week ago at Trader Joe’s has no such warning and they’re usually overly cautious about such things. (e.g. Their *entire* shelf of tuna and/or tuna-like fish has dire warnings about mercury levels in all tunas.)

I’ve read that the balsamic vinegar warnings are overly cautious and that you’d have to ingest huge daily quantities for it to be a concern (e.g. 1 to 2 cups a day). But even so, it is worrying… and it does stink too. It seems like every time I feel like I’m making healthy choices, something will come up in the news claiming that whatever it is that I’m eating is contaminated with some chemical or heavy metal or is otherwise bad for me. I suppose this is another argument for eating a variety of foods every day, so that if it turns out that one food source isn’t as wholesome as another – that it has very little impact on your health… but still…

I was rather proud of myself that I had recently switched from using this salad dressing mix that my husband prefers – which is rather thick and goopy – to the lighter (and I thought – healthier) balsamic vinaigrette I’ve been mixing up lately. I use so much less salad dressing than I used to with the vinaigrette and I thought that could only be a good thing – ’till this came to light anyway… Unfortunately, with red wine vinegars being branded with the same health warnings – there aren’t that many other savory options left. White wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and even rice vinegar just aren’t as tasty solo as balsamic is…

So I’m either going to be on the lookout for balsamic that doesn’t contain lead… or I’ll “go back to the drawing board” in figuring out how to make a healthy light dressing for salads that I’m happy with.

Deonna
Carmel Valley, CA

My first encounter with the ambrosia that is balsamic vinegar was when I was little and tried my dad’s treat: Crosse and Blackwell’s pickled baby walnuts, their still-edible shells dark from the vinegar.

Then, last Sunday, I saw a high-up sign above the vinegars, oils and salad dressings: a lead-content warning about balsamic vinegar!

Later my unbelieving friend read the label of her balsamic vinegar: “Oh! Lead, 10%” she said.

Now my unscientific mind did not take note of whether that was 10% of what it takes to give you the ability to sink fast in water, or 10% of one’s daily maximum allowable…?

Bottom line — don’t put the balsamic in baby formula.
Where would the lead come from?
Is there balsamic vinegar that’s not leaded, like unleaded gas… or what?