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| It might be time to ditch your old Teflon cookware. |
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Teflon Non-stick Cookware
Are non-stick pans safe?
By Isobel Whitcomb-LiveScience Contributor
Spending each morning at the kitchen sink scraping at the
charred remains of breakfast gets tedious after a while.
Non-stick cookware may seem like an appealing alternative — but
is it safe?
Usually when people inquire about the safety of their non-stick
cookware, they're talking about Teflon, said Suzanne Fenton, a reproductive
endocrinologist at the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences in
North Carolina.
Also known as polytertrafluoroethylene (PTFE), this clear
plastic is used to coat metal pots and pans, giving them a waxy, easy-to-clean
surface — and for decades, scientists have debated whether it's safe for
cooking.
Experts tend to agree that Teflon itself isn’t a problem. The
coating itself is considered non-toxic.
Even if you ingest small flakes of it, it passes right through you.
But some experts are concerned about what happens when Teflon
gets too hot.
"When pans are overheated, that
PTFE coating begins to disintegrate," Fenton told Live Science.
As Teflon breaks down, it releases a host of toxic gases.
In rare instances, breathing in these chemical fumes can
cause polymer fume fever, a condition characterized
by a high fever, shortness of
breath and weakness.
These gases also deadly to birds — lightbulbs coated in Teflon
have wiped out poultry houses.
Of particular concern is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of
the chemicals released when Teflon pans heat up.
Long-term exposure to PFOA is linked to a host of conditions
from cancer to thyroid disease,
Fenton said.
Not all researchers think that people need to worry about their
Teflon pans breaking down.
Some point out that no studies have specifically analyzed the
long-term effects of Teflon pans on humans.
Instead, these studies focus on the health-effects of Teflon’s
chemical byproducts, like PFOA.
Much of the data on these toxins come from cases of
environmental exposure — such as drinking water or factory settings, where
exposure levels are much higher than they would be from non-stick cookware.
"Generally speaking, nonstick
pans are not dangerous," said Kyle Steenland, a professor of
environmental health at Emory University in Atlanta.
Steenland and other scientists also argue that people don't cook
at high enough temperatures for these chemical reactions to take place.
"Now, if you burn your pans for
an hour at high heat, it [Teflon] will break down, but that will be the least
of your problems because your house will be on fire."
However, research suggests pans can easily reach a temperature hot
enough to disintegrate Teflon.
One group of researchers in Canada published a 2001 study in the
journal Nature, in which Teflon broke down at 680 degrees Fahrenheit
(360 degrees Celsius).
For context: a Teflon-coated pan can reach 750 F (399 C) if left
for eight minutes at high heat on a stovetop, according to a 2017 article
published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
And at lower temperatures, Teflon coating still breaks down over
time, according to a 1998 article published in the journal Polymer Degradation and Stability.
If you consistently heat your pan to 500 F (260 C; the
temperature at which we sear steak), the pan should last around 2.3 years,
according to the 2001 Nature study.
Taking good care of non-stick pans can help keep your kitchen
safe.
"It's really important that you
use the pans on low-to-medium heat, and you don't use utensils that will
scratch it," Fenton said.
But in some cases, it's best to ditch Teflon pans altogether,
Fenton added — especially if you're pregnant, breastfeeding or have young
children.
PFOA in particular is tied to problems with kids' development.
That's because this chemical is considered an endocrine
disruptor, meaning it interferes with the body's hormone system.
PFOA exposure causes elevated estrogen in male rats and delayed
mammary-gland development in female mice, according to a 2012 article published
in The Journal of Steroid
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
In humans, the chemical is linked to obesity, diabetes, low
sperm quality and irregular menstrual cycles — potential signs of endocrine
disruption.
Luckily, there's a wealth of other options for those averse to
scrubbing pans.
Cookware made of anodized aluminum (a product
that protects against corrosion and scratches) and ceramic is non-stick and
perfectly safe, Fenton said.
If cared for correctly, a cast-iron skillet can also serve as
another non-toxic, non-stick pan, while enriching food with
blood-building iron.
"Non-stick pans come in many forms," Fenton said, "one can certainly safely cook healthy meals in them."
Isobel
Whitcomb
Live
Science Contributor
Isobel
Whitcomb, a contributing writer for Live Science, covers the environment,
animals and health. Her work has appeared in Scholastic, Fatherly, Atlas
Obscura, and Hakai Magazine. Isobel's roots are in science. She studied biology
at Scripps College in Claremont, California while working in two different
labs, and completing a fellowship at Crater Lake National Park. She completed
her master's degree in journalism at NYU's Science, Health, and Environmental
Reporting Program. She lives in Brooklyn, where you can find her riding her
bike or running in Prospect Park.
https://www.livescience.com/are-nonstick-pans-toxic.html?utm_source=notification
You might also like:
The Invention of Teflon
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https://puricare.blogspot.com/2017/10/teflon-history-of-teflon-colorless.html
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ARE YOU BEING
POISONED BY YOUR TEFLON PAN?
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https://puricare.blogspot.com/2017/06/teflon-pans-are-you-being-poisoned-by.html
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