Life Without Plastic Round Stainless Steel Airtight Take-Out Container with Dividers

1. What touches the food 45% of the rating 4 of 5

   Steel container, steel lid and a silicone seal that is bonded in without glue. The dividers and the lid logo are not described.

2. Independent testing 15% of the rating 1 of 5

   "Lead-free, BPA-free, phthalate-free, PVC-free" is the seller's word. No lab, report or date, and the factory is not named.

3. Durability 15% of the rating 2 of 5

   The seal cannot be removed or replaced, spare lids are not mentioned, and no warranty is stated.

4. Trust 10% of the rating 3 of 5

   A small shop that names the steel grade, country and care limits. It does not name the factory or show any test, and no recall or Prop 65 notice turned up.

5. Value 15% of the rating 3 of 5

   $32 for 37 oz is about $0.86 an ounce, mid-range for steel boxes.

The rating, 3.0 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank food storage & kitchen and our standard.

1. Container and lid: 18-8 (304) food grade stainless steel
2. Lid seal: non-removable, adhesive-free food grade silicone
3. Two removable dividers: material not stated separately; the page calls the whole container plastic-free
4. A small Life Without Plastic logo on the lid; how it is applied is not stated

What happens when the silicone seal wears out?

The seller describes the seal as non-removable, so a worn seal means a new lid, and the page does not say whether spare lids are sold. It also says the lid is hand wash only because the seal is not dishwasher safe.

Are the dividers plastic?

The page does not name the dividers' material separately. It describes the whole container as "plastic-free" and the container and lid as steel, so we treat the dividers as unconfirmed.

Is the lead-free claim tested?

We found no test report, and no independent XRF result for this container turned up on Lead Safe Mama's site. The seller gives South Korea as the country of manufacture but not the factory.

Has this seller's "lead-free" wording held up before?

Its 2019 page for WECK jars (opens in a new tab) called them "lead-free" and said an accredited lab found no lead in leach tests, while Lead Safe Mama's XRF screens (opens in a new tab) read 107 to 159 ppm total lead in WECK glass. Total lead and leachable lead are different measures, and the seller showed no report. That says nothing about this container, but it is why we treat the "lead-free" line on its own products as a claim until a report is shown.

Does nickel come out of stainless steel into food?

A little can, mostly in hot, acidic cooking. A 2017 lab study (opens in a new tab) of 316 steel pots found release rose with cooking time and acidity, was higher in unused pots, and stayed below allergy thresholds. It tested hour-long hot cooking, so cold leftovers are a milder case, and glass avoids the question for people with a nickel allergy.

• The materials are named: lid and container are 18-8 (304) food grade stainless steel, and the lid has an "adhesive-free food grade silicone seal".
• Origin is stated: "Country of Manufacture: South Korea".
• Care limits are written out: the base is dishwasher safe and oven safe, the container is freezer safe, and the lid is hand wash only and not oven safe.
• The seller lists the container as "BPA-free, phthalate-free, PVC-free and lead-free".

• The seal is "non-removable", so a worn seal means replacing the lid. The page does not say whether spare lids are sold or give a warranty.
• All the safety statements are the seller's own. We found no test report and the factory is not named.
• Microwave use is not covered on the page, and steel does not belong in most microwaves. The silicone seal is not dishwasher or oven safe.
• The dividers' material and how the lid logo is applied are not stated.

1. Life Without Plastic: Round Stainless Steel Airtight Take-Out Container with Dividers. Maker’s page. The seller's own description, read 2026-10-23: $32, materials, origin, care limits and the health statement. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. Life Without Plastic: our story. Maker’s page. An online shop launched in 2006 by two co-founders, who published a book on avoiding plastic in 2017. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. Guarneri and Costa 2017: Release of nickel and chromium in common foods during cooking in 18/10 (grade 316) stainless steel pots (PubMed). Test report. A different grade of steel (316) and hot cooking, used here only for scale. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. Life Without Plastic: WECK 742 Mold Jar page, December 2019 (Internet Archive copy). Independent source. Shows how the seller words lead claims on a product it sold: "lead-free" and a leach-test statement with no report. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. Lead Safe Mama: small newer WECK baby food canning jar with glass lid, XRF results (2019). Test report. XRF screening of total lead by an independent advocate; the site earns affiliate income from some product links. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. CPSC recall search for Life Without Plastic, run 2026-10-23. Certifier or regulator listing. No recalls. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched on 2026-10-23; nothing named Life Without Plastic. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• U-Konserve Round Stainless Steel Nesting Containers Three small steel containers with silicone lids, about $30, with spare lids sold separately. Oven to 300°F.
• Klean Kanteen Rise Food Box A 23 oz steel box with a silicone lid, about $27, with a lifetime warranty.

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