Is 304 stainless steel kettle poisonous?

Things made of stainless steel are widely used in life. Stainless steel is made by mixing iron and steel, so the significant advantage of stainless steel is that it does not rust. In daily life, many household appliances or utensils are made of stainless steel, such as pots, stainless steel kettles, etc. But many people are worried that frequent use of 304 stainless steel kettles will lead to poisoning?

First of all, let's start with the material. In the production process of stainless steel, "nickel" is added because it is a silver-white, hard, ductile and ferromagnetic metal element. It can be highly polished and corrosion-resistant, so its price is also very expensive. 304 stainless steel contains 8 "nickels" so it has strong corrosion resistance and will not rust. Therefore, 304 stainless steel is the most widely used, and is used in food equipment, general equipment, atomic energy industrial equipment, etc.

In the process of producing electric kettles, due to the relatively high price of food-grade 304 stainless steel raw materials, some unscrupulous merchants, in pursuit of profit, mostly use 201 (high manganese steel) or even worse steel to make kettles. Once a kettle product containing excessive amounts of harmful elements overflows in large quantities during use, there is still a high risk for people who use it for a long time.

In our daily life, we often see 201 stainless steel (industrial stainless steel, commonly known as high manganese steel) and 304 stainless steel. Due to the different "nickel" elements they contain, 201 stainless steel is often used for home decoration or industrial purposes, while 304 stainless steel meets food standards and is often used in food utensils.

Nickel is an element that improves the acid and alkali resistance of stainless steel. This element is expensive, so it affects the price of stainless steel. In order to save costs, 201 stainless steel (industrial stainless steel, commonly known as high manganese steel) only adds 1 "nickel". However, in the production process, in order to improve the rust resistance (acid and alkali resistance), only manganese can be added, and manganese is harmful to the human body; 304 stainless steel adds 8 to 10 "nickels". Although the price is high, the rust resistance (acid and alkali resistance) reaches the national food-grade stainless steel. Therefore, SUS304 stainless steel meets the relevant requirements of the "National Standard of the People's Republic of China" GB 9684-2011 "National Food Safety Standard Stainless Steel Products".

201 stainless steel (industrial stainless steel, commonly known as high manganese steel) has poor anti-rust ability (acid and alkali resistance), so the products are treated with "mirror polish" (a layer of protection on the surface) to reduce the adhesion of stains and prolong the rust time; if "sanding" treatment is performed, the metal is directly exposed to the air and will soon rust, so in order to prolong the rust-proof period, 201 stainless steel can only be made into "mirror polish" products.

04 stainless steel products have anti-rust ability (acid and alkali resistance) that meets food grade requirements, so both "sanding" and "mirror polishing" treatments are acceptable. Therefore, most "sanding" kettles are made of 304 stainless steel, and most "mirror polishing" kettles are made of 201 stainless steel.