Leaching of toxic elements from cooking utensils is a long-recognised problem, and covers a wide range of elements, the traditional examples including materials such as lead (mainly from earthenware) and copper (typically from coffee pots with defective tin-plating). More recently, nickel and aluminium from kitchenware have raised concerns. In this article, literature on hazards caused by chromium leaching from stainless steel kitchen utensils and other consumer items is discussed from the point of view of toxicity.