Between 1999 and 2003 there were a lot of news reports about studies showing that the chemicals known as PFO’s, PFOA’s and PFC’s were being released from cookware and getting into people’s bodies. Many groups came out with warnings suggesting that non-stick cookware be replaced by regular stainless steel or cast iron pots and pans. I have known about this warning for quite some time, but I am not surprised that cookware coated with the chemical commonly known as Teflon is still the vast majority of cookware in use today. The chemical coatings are inexpensive so non-stick cookware is less costly than stainless steel. The non-stick properties of Teflon make cooking some types of food so much easier that it is unlikely that most people will ever go back to using traditional pots and pans.
One of the reasons Teflon is still in wide use in cookware is that has been difficult to determine what the real source of these chemicals in the people’s bodies is. In addition to non-stick cookware, the chemicals are found in many consumer products including shampoo, food grade paper products, carpets, lubricants, rug cleaners, garden tools, and even zippers. PFOA is released as water and air pollution during the manufacturing of carpets, clothing, and paper. These chemicals have been found in tested air, water, and food in every U.S. city where testing has been done. In addition, studies have found the chemicals are in 90 -95% of the blood of people living in the U.S.
DuPont, the main manufacturer and user of these chemicals claims that its non stick coatings are safe. Of course the company has a huge financial investment and interest in the continued use of Teflon. It is also true, however, that some experts have called for caution in sounding an alarm about the use of these chemicals in non-stick cookware. Because of the many different sources of PFO’s in the environment, these scientists say it is impossible to know exactly how the chemical gets into the blood of virtually every person in the developed world.
In addition, some studies have shown that if Teflon coated cookware is not used at high temperatures, very little of the chemical is actually released into your food. The problem I see with these studies is that they only measure the toxic fumes given off when the cookware is heated to temperatures over 500 degrees. This sounds like a high temperature, but I think the direct contact with your gas or electric burner can easily achieve these temperatures. Many frying pans also get scratched with use and particles of the chemicals get into your food.
Another reason some experts urge caution in condemning the use of non-stick cookware is that in order to use the alternatives, you must use a much higher amount of oil or butter. These fats are known to be unhealthy for you, especially when heated to high temperatures. So, short of steaming or boiling all of your food, what should you do?
In my case, I simply stopped using non-stick pans a couple of years ago and my advice would be, especially for frying, and sauteing…. Do not use Teflon pots and pans, do not use non-stick cookware of any type. I don’t fry much food, and when I do, I use a stainless steel pan, and lower temperatures. I am less worried about the little bit of extra butter or oil I use than I am about having the chemicals from non-stick pans accumulating in my body. However, even in our household, we still have a few non-stick pans because not everyone in the family is willing to give up on their convenience. I suggest that you look at your cooking habits and see if you can at least reduce the use of this cookware. Certainly any pots or pans that are used for steaming, boiling, and sauteing, can be stainless steel. When you do fry something, you can use lower temperatures and get by with a good quality stainless steel or cast iron frying pan.
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I didn’t know that teflon is one of unrecommended cook stuff. It is still being used at my home…I have to tell my mother about this.
The problem with getting most people to stop using Teflon pans is that it really is so much easier to cook on and clean than regular pans. I think that is the reason this post has almost no comments. This is another example of just getting the information out for people to make up their own minds on using the pans or not.
Like most things, different people will make different decisions. I do my best to never use Teflon pans anymore. But other members of my family do. In the end, people choose different ways to try to live healthier. The point is not that everyone should do any one thing, but that we should all try to do what we feel works for us. Some people will try to do every single thing they can to eliminate perceived health risks from their lives. Other people will do nothing, believing that life is a crap shoot no matter what you do. Most of us aim somewhere in the middle and hope for the best.
I always get skeptical when using teflon and non-stick surfaces to cook. It just bothers me, so I use regular metal pans and pots all of the time.
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I’d love to see a really good study on this. Unfortunately too much money is involved so it’s not likely to happen. I still use non-stick but then I still eat eggs and fish and everything else that they said was bad for us.
on the subject of toxic cookware, does anyone know if White plastic electic kettles are toxic as well?
Hi Leah – Good question. Can you post the brand and model of kettle you have? I would love to research that. My first opinion is that any plastic that is heated and then comes in contact with food is not a good thing, but I would like to specifically look at the item you are asking about. I am working on a series of posts that discuss cooking food in “safe”, (not) plastic containers.
Thanks! – Will
I recently (belatedly) read the May/June 2007 Mother Jones article about Teflon. I found your site by searching for “How to tell if carpet was treated with Teflon”.
I am being offered some very slightly used carpet which I need badly. I think I can assume that this carpet was treated w/ Teflon. So my question is how safe is it? Is there a 1/2 life for the Teflon. I assume it breaks down and gets vacuumed and tracked away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene
As of August 2008, the EPA’s position was that it “has no information that routine use of household or other products using fluoropolymers, such as non-stick cookware or all weather clothing, poses a concern.”[19]
I read this article with interest. I’ve been asking myself that question in the past. Still, I don’t want to go back to the good old frying pans, teflon is simply too easy.
I suppose that one important thing is that you use kitchen utensils that don’t scratch your pan, this way little of the product is mixed with your food. That’s how I proceed anyhow, and I tell myself that it’s OK then.
Another issue I wonder about is the type of furnace. We’re using induction at home, also incredibly practical. But I wonder, if people worry about the 2 watt fields from a cell phone, what about the 2000 watt magnetic field coming from an induction plate?
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@test – That EPA statement is political speak gobbilty goop. The bureaucrats and govt. agencies always seem to be the last ones to acknowledge dangers.
@Luc – I know nothing about the furnace. But even with the big wattage, it is a long ways from your brain. A cell phone could not get any closer to your brain without surgery!
Everyone’s talking about the danger of this and that. Once read about the risk you’ll get using plastic cups etc, the risk you get using plastic wares in heating food. Whew! Still using teflon, no matter what.
Totally agree with the article. I stopped using non stick pans a few years ago. I found non stick (even the very good makes) would start smelling when heated, especially the frying pan. I think it is even more important to avoid with children in the house since chemicals getting into children have consequences that we probably won’t know until years later. Also switched to stainless steel and wooden kitchen accessories in general and pyrex bowls and containers instead of plastic. It is no more difficult to cook and store food. I doubt people will change their habits though, unless there is 100% proof of the dangers (which I doubt would ever be published even if there was) or unless someone like Jamie Oliver made a programme like he did about the standards of meat.
Lyka – The evidence has become even stronger since I wrote this. Teflon and other hormone mimicking chemicals are being shown to have adverse effects never before thought of and at such low levels as to be astounding.
Very smart Sara. I tell people that after the more obvious few things like not smoking, the 2 biggest things you can do for your health are:
1. Stop drinking soda
2. Stop cooking anything in or on plastic.
I agree about stopping soda drinking. I already have two friends who suffered from acute UTI from making soda their daily liquid intake. They work in Saudi, water is gold, so that’s why…
it seems that even if you use the cook ware as directed it depends on the stove settings and kind of stove your cooking on , but even the temprature on electric stoves when used correctly dont always agree with the cook ware and seems to distroy the cook ware after a few months of use . why is this ? and why do wemen want to defend something that can be very harmful to there family ? like osbestist at one time that was a great product too until law suits and cancer came along. people wake up use what has worked for hundreds of years are you willing to risk your families health over a couple more minutes of cleaning a pan.
Hi,
Is there any information on the harms of these chemicals? If they’re already in our bloodstream andin our drining water, is Teflon really gonna make much of a difference? And what harms do these chemicals cause?
I love my teflon pots & pans — so I would like to know more about this before giving them up!
Hi Lisa – Thanks for your question. You can read this article for some more information: http://willtaft.com/health/non-stick-cookware-safety/
Your question makes me think others would wonder the same thing. I think I will write a post specifically on the issue of “if we are already exposed, will it make a difference now?”
Once “cookware, cast iron” is seasoned well and treated with care, keeping the heat of compression gives very good results that can not other kitchen utensils, especially when it comes to dimming.
Hi Will,
My husband & I have gotten to the point where most of what we use is our old trusty cast iron and stainless cookware. However, we have travelled south this winter, and the condo we are in only has some beat up non-stick fry pans. So, we’ve been on the lookout for other alternatives. Today, my husband came home with some new and inexpensive pans for us to use – and they were all stickered “Made without PFOA” and the name on them was one I did not recognize (“Xylan, Whitford’s Famous Nonstick”). It doesn’t appear to be a very high quality – kind of thin. But, since it said made without the PFOAs, we thought we’d take a chance.
We’re a bit between a rock & a hard place – we traveled in one car, so there was only so much we could fit in the car to bring down for the 4 months.
Have you had any experience with these types of pans and their claims to be non-PFOA? Thanks for the good work on the site! It’s really informative.
Cheers,
Kathy
Hi Kathy – No I don’t know about those pans, but I would be careful. I am not sure but they might be a resin/plastic formula, although one seems to be a ceramic coating of some type. Not sure which one you have. More info is here.
I actually found some pans several weeks ago that are working great so far. I will be posting about them this week.
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