Dhaka, Nov. 8 -- Locally made aluminium cooking pots can release lead, a toxic metal, into cooked food, with the highest levels found during the first uses of a new pot, according to a study by icddr,b and Stanford University.

Lead can cause lasting harm to children's brain development. The researchers are calling for safer cookware and clearer guidance for households.

In Bangladesh, exchanging old aluminium utensils for new cookware, or for old clothes, is a familiar practice.

The study did not look at these exchanges, but its findings show that a pot's newness or shine does not prove it is safe. Many locally made pots are produced by melting scrap metal. Without checks on that scrap, lead can end up in the finished pots.

Lead can da...