Food & Drink / Compounds / Lead chromate

Lead chromate in food: ingestion safety

High risk

GHS Danger classification. Oral LD50 12 g/kg (mouse).

What is lead chromate?

The IUPAC name is dioxido(dioxo)chromium;lead(2+).

Also known as: dioxido(dioxo)chromium;lead(2+), Lead(II) chromate, Plumbous chromate, Chromate de plomb.

IUPAC name
dioxido(dioxo)chromium;lead(2+)
CAS number
7758-97-6
Molecular formula
CrO4Pb
Molecular weight
323.0 g/mol
SMILES
[Pb++].[O-][Cr]([O-])(=O)=O
PubChem CID
24460

Risk for people

High risk

GHS Danger classification. Oral LD50 12 g/kg (mouse).

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Lead chromate. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: None, 6 positive / 0 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: None, 6 positive / 0 negative reports)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter lead chromate

  • Contaminated Water — Mining site runoff, Industrial discharge, Old infrastructure
  • Food Chain — Fish from contaminated waters, Crops in contaminated soil

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Lead chromate:

  • Mineral-based or plant-derived pigments
    Trade-offs: Narrower color range. May fade faster than synthetic pigments.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional

Frequently asked questions

Is lead chromate safe for you?

GHS Danger classification. Oral LD50 12 g/kg (mouse).

What products contain lead chromate?

Lead chromate appears in: Mining site runoff (Contaminated water); Industrial discharge (Contaminated water); Fish from contaminated waters (Food chain); Crops in contaminated soil (Food chain).

See Lead chromate in the food app

Look up products containing lead chromate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (3)
  1. PubChem Compound CID 24460 — database
  2. EPA CompTox Chemicals Dashboard — DTXSID1064792 — epa
  3. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 7758-97-6 — reference

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →