Nonstick pans: Sharing an article

[lorilei]

Found this article while I was doing some reading this morning. It's a bit disturbing, so I thought I'd share:

STICKY ISSUE: ARE TEFLON PANS COOKING OUR LUNGS WITH CHEMICALS?

Teflon, the miracle coating that makes eggs slide out of modern cookware and melted cheese peel off like a postage stamp, is in the news again. Recent reports that a chemical used in its manufacture was poisoning factory workers and the environment spurred the Environmental Working Group to test the safety of the final product itself. And what they found isn’t very appetizing.

For years the DuPont Company, maker of Teflon and the cookware coatings it’s used to create, has told the public that Teflon is a non-toxic material that’s completely safe for use in the kitchen. According to the company, the temperatures needed to cause it to break down and emit toxic fumes are so high that they can only be reached under conditions that qualify as extreme misuse and are therefore likely never to be experienced in the typical home.

Not so, say researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Prompted by allegations that DuPont deliberately withheld factory safety data concerning worker poisonings at facilities that manufacture Teflon, the organization decided to look into the safety of the non-stick products themselves, pots and pans found in almost every American kitchen. What they discovered is likely to give cooks everywhere a bad case of indigestion.

According to EWG tests, Teflon and other similar non-stick coated pans reach temperatures high enough to emit toxic fumes after just two to five minutes on a typical stove. In its study, a generic nonstick frying pan reached 736° in three minutes and 20 seconds on a conventional electric stovetop burner; a Teflon pan reached 721° in five minutes. Tests further showed that at 680°, such pans release at least six toxic gases. According to the report, “studies show that thermal degradation of Teflon leads to the slow breakdown of the fluorinated polymer and the generation of a litany of toxic fumes including TFE (tetrafluoroethylene), HFP (hexafluoropropene), OFCB (octafluorocyclobutane), PFIB (perfluoroisobutane), carbonyl fluoride, CF4 (carbon tetrafluoride), TFA (trifluoroacetic acid), trifluoroacetic acid fluoride, perfluorobutane, SiF4 (silicon tetrafluoride), HF (hydrofluoric acid), and particulate matter. At least four of these gases are extremely toxic: PFIB, (which is a chemical warfare agent 10 times more toxic than phosgene), carbonyl fluoride, MFA (monofluoroacetic acid) which can kill people at low doses, and HF, a highly corrosive gas.”

The issue is not that Teflon can release toxins, but at what temperatures these releases occur and whether or not people typically experience such temperatures when cooking at home under normal circumstances. For its part, DuPont has previously admitted that pans heated to about 460° will release particles that can kill pet birds. Company studies have also found that when Teflon is heated to 662°, fumes may cause a condition in people called “polymer fever,” which is characterized by fever, shortness of breath and flu-like symptoms. However, the company has insisted that pans heated to under 500° pose no risks because the coating stays intact at such temperatures. DuPont has further said that non-stick cookware rarely if ever gets this hot during normal use.

Citing their own dramatically different test results, the EWG has called these statements into question and is asking the Consumer Products Safety Commission to place warning labels on coated cookware. Their petition calls on the CPSC to require that “all cookware and heated appliances bearing polytetrafluoroethylene nonstick coatings, including Teflon coatings, carry a label warning of
the acute hazard the coating poses to pet birds and the potential health risks to humans." The organization is also recommending that bird owners avoid coated cookware completely and opt for cast-iron or stainless steel instead.

For more information about the EWG’s Teflon research visit
http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon/

[Natasha]

Hi Lori,

Thanks for sharing. Definitely interesting reading, and thought-provoking too. I'll have to check out that link on the bottom too. I only have one Teflon-coated pan, and don't use it very often, but it's certainly worth finding out more about.

Oh, and Lori -- curiously, what do you plan to do with this information? Do you plan to reduce your use of Teflon (if you use Teflon-coated stuff at all now)? :) Not meaning to put you on the spot, but I always value your perspective.

Natasha

[SandyM]

Thanks for the information, Lori. It's always something, isn't it? ;) :D

[lorilei]

Originally posted by Natasha
Oh, and Lori -- curiously, what do you plan to do with this information? Do you plan to reduce your use of Teflon (if you use Teflon-coated stuff at all now)? :) Not meaning to put you on the spot, but I always value your perspective.

Natasha

Hmm. I've been thinking about this -- and will definitely be contemplating some behavior modification. But as with most news like this, I don't like to panic.

I only have a couple pieces of nonstick cookware, so I'm not too concerned. But I do have one piece that I use fairly frequently -- so I think it's probably a good idea to stay on top of the news.

[MKSquared]

Teflon and other similar non-stick coated pans reach temperatures high enough to emit toxic fumes after just two to five minutes on a typical stove. In its study, a generic nonstick frying pan reached 736° in three minutes and 20 seconds on a conventional electric stovetop burner; a Teflon pan reached 721° in five minutes.

Seriously? It takes me 10 minutes to boil a pot of water, and it takes 3 minutes to go above 700 degrees? Hrm. Maybe I don't have a "typical" stove. ;)

[aggie94]

Interesting.

We switched to stainless cookware when we got a bird several years ago, but I bought several nonstick pans when I moved last year to use for select recipes. I've been using them more and more lately, even with the bird in the house, but I'm thinking now that I should be more careful and go back to primarily using the stainless.

[Julie O]

Below is an article from the FDA website. Cooking pans are not routinely at the temperatures that are of concern. If you get a pan that hot, the coating is going to be ruined anyway, and the pan might even smoke. (I've had this happen before.)

Nonstick Coatings
Before anodized aluminum made its cookware debut, nonstick coatings stirred a mini-revolution in the American kitchen. Teflon, for instance, is a trademark for a tough, nonporous material called perfluorocarbon resinthat permits cooking without the use of fats. It was first discovered bychance in 1938 and then hurried into wartime production for use in radarsystems, in which other less durable substances had failed.
The noncorrosive properties of this stable plastic material made it a natural for cookware. In 1960, FDA approved its use for food contactsurfaces, and cookware manufacturers began turning out pots and pans with a coating that cleaned quickly and easily and that required less fat for nonstick cooking. One of the first nonstick coatings to be applied to housewares, Teflon soon became a household word.
Fry pans were the first cookware marketed with this nonstick finish.Now, says the Cookware Manufacturers Association, almost every cookware and bakeware item is available with a nonstick finish. There are griddles,saucepans, casseroles, muffin pans, cookie sheets, Dutch ovens, egg poachers, cake pans, deep fryers, and waffle bakers.
Because nonstick finishes may be scratched by sharp or rough-edged
kitchen tools, manufacturers recommend using plastic or wooden utensils. Abrasive scouring pads or cleansers should not be used to clean them. Even so, Tom Brown, an official in FDA's food additives section, notes that while nonstick pans do abrade with hard use and particles may chip off, these particles would pass unchanged through your body and pose no health hazard.
When heated for long periods at high temperatures, the resin decomposes. However, a 1959 study, conducted before FDA approved the material for use in food processing equipment, showed that the toxicity of fumes given off by the coated pan on dry heating was less than that of fumes given off by ordinary cooking oils. The study, conducted by the Haskell Laboratory for Toxicology and Industrial Medicine, compared effects of inhaling of fumes from resin-coated pans that were overheated?for four hours at 250 degrees
Celsius (482 degrees Farenheit) with corn oil, peanut oil, and butter.
The investigators, J. Wesley Clayton, Ph.D., and Gayle E. Raynesford, also explored the possibility that long-term use of the coated pan also increases the chance of food contamination with the resin. Newly coated resin pans, an aged pan (a pan that had been heated at 250 degrees Celsius(482 degrees Farenheit) for 159 hours), and a pan that had received two-and-one-half years of domestic use were used to fry hamburger meat.
Researchers compared the results with those from frying hamburger in an uncoated aluminum pan, measuring levels of fluoride, which serve as an index to Teflon residue. (Aluminum contains traces of fluoride as impurities.) An analysis showed basically the same amount of fluoride in the hamburger cooked in the new resin-coated pan as in the one cooked in the plain aluminum pan. Slightly more fluoride but well within safe limits showed up in the hamburgers fried in the heat-aged pan and the old pan.
Cooking enthusiasts now are hailing Silverstone and Excalibur nonstick coatings, which are made of three layers of the same plastic used on Teflon and other perfluorocarbon resin-coated pans. This material is extremely durable, and so inert (meaning it will not migrate) that it is used in artificial arteries, hip joint replacement parts, and other surgical implants. As with Teflon, however, it will emit fumes when overheated. Out of caution, DuPont refuses to license housewares manufacturers to produce
from Silverstone burner bibs (the pans that are placed under stove burners) because these pans can become extremely hot.

[Julie O]

Looks like the Consumer Product Safety Commission agrees with the FDA. This came out today...

Consumer Product Safety Commission Rejects EWG Petition for Teflon® Warning Label

July 15, 2003 —

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has rejected a petition by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) seeking warning labels on cookware made with non-stick coatings, including DuPont™ Teflon®. In a June 27 letter to the EWG, the CPSC said EWG did not provide sufficient data to support its contention that fumes emitted from cookware with non-stick coatings pose a health threat to consumers.

"You have not established whether humans will experience adverse health effects when Teflon® or other coated cookware is used at normal cooking temperatures… We do not believe that your request provides sufficient information to meet the Commission's requirement for petitions," the CPSC letter said, adding that "these data do not support the warning label you request."

"We are pleased to learn of the Commission's decision and feel that it reinforces DuPont's position that cookware made with Teflon® non-stick coating is totally safe for consumer and commercial use," said Rich Angiullo, vice president and general manager - DuPont Fluoroproducts.

[lorilei]

Julie -
Thanks for that data.

With that said -- I'm not normally one who panics about data like this, but I also don't believe that the FDA and other government agencies are ready to really take a stand on health and well-being. So, the fact that they don't take a stand against nonstick cookware doesn't surprise me.

I guess all I'm saying is that we shouldn't rely on ANYONE to tell us what's what. We need to make our own choices, and stay informed. That's all I'm trying to do.

[jmarie]

I do think that this alerts us that we should use extreme caution when using our non-stick pans. I won't be getting rid of mine, but as I replace them, this will definately give me something to think about! I have some 3-ply stainless that I purchased in 1983 and they are like new.

[Laura B]

I think I have one pan with Teflon coating, but most of my non-stick pans are All-Clad and use Excalibur coating. I am surprised about the temperatures they say our pans reach and how quickly. The article didn't mention how much is emitted in home use and how much is harmful. These people who worked at the Teflon plant must inhale multitudes more of these fumes than a home cook would, even using a Teflon pan every day. I'm not worried at all.

[lorilei]

Laura -
I'm not sure this is exactly reason for panic either -- but it's interesting.

And, if I remember correctly from some of my other reading, a bunch of people got sick/died who worked at the Teflon plants a while back. And I think that was part of the impetus for this study.

I have a couple of coated pans myself -- Calphalon. Not sure if they use Teflon or not, but it did make me think twice. I like using nonstick for certain dishes, but like jmarie, I'll just be a bit more aware the next time I go to buy a pan...

[Wendy w]

Originally posted by aggie94
Interesting.

We switched to stainless cookware when we got a bird several years ago, but I bought several nonstick pans when I moved last year to use for select recipes. I've been using them more and more lately, even with the bird in the house, but I'm thinking now that I should be more careful and go back to primarily using the stainless.

Because of having a bird, I use only stainless.

[Lynn B]

Originally posted by Wendy w


Because of having a bird, I use only stainless.

Wendy & Eva,

Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid or obvious question but how does using non-stick cookware endanger a bird? Thank you!

Lynn

[Lynn B]

Originally posted by Wendy w


Because of having a bird, I use only stainless.

Wendy & Eva,

Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid or obvious question but how does using non-stick cookware endanger a bird? Thank you!

Lynn

[jmarie]

Citing their own dramatically different test results, the EWG has called these statements into question and is asking the Consumer Products Safety Commission to place warning labels on coated cookware. Their petition calls on the CPSC to require that “all cookware and heated appliances bearing polytetrafluoroethylene nonstick coatings, including Teflon coatings, carry a label warning of the acute hazard the coating poses to pet birds and the potential health risks to humans." The organization is also recommending that bird owners avoid coated cookware completely and opt for cast-iron or stainless steel instead.

Apparently when non-stick pans are heated they release toxic fumes that if the pan gets too hot, are enough to kill birds. However, I read, today, that the CPSC refused to put the labels on the non-stick cookware.
Joyce

[wallycat]

I've only had a non-stick (teflon coated) pan once. That's because DH had an omlette pan from Le Creuset that had the non-stick. He ruined it, and they were nice enough to replace it :rolleyes:

I'm very hard on my pots/pans so never thought it worth having.

I did invest in a Sitram "non-stick" pan. It is a metal alloy.
You can use it in the oven, you can broil with it, you can use metal utensils with it. It's not TOTALLY non-stick, but for me, it is close enough.
It boggles my mind how the French came up with it, but that's my pan, and I'm sticking to it :D ;)

[aggie94]

Originally posted by Lynn B
Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid or obvious question but how does using non-stick cookware endanger a bird? Thank you!

Not a stupid question. As mentioned in the article that Lori posted, "DuPont has previously admitted that pans heated to about 460° will release particles that can kill pet birds."

I'm not sure if my pans get that hot, and it's less of a concern if you don't have central air/heat because the fumes don't circulate from room to room as easily, but I still try to do what I can to minimize the risk to our little Tuck-Tuck. :)

[Lynn B]

Originally posted by aggie94


Not a stupid question. As mentioned in the article that Lori posted, "DuPont has previously admitted that pans heated to about 460° will release particles that can kill pet birds."

I'm not sure if my pans get that hot, and it's less of a concern if you don't have central air/heat because the fumes don't circulate from room to room as easily, but I still try to do what I can to minimize the risk to our little Tuck-Tuck. :)

Eva,
Thanks for the info. Ooops, I guess I missed that sentence in the article. So much for my speed-reading skills! ;)
Lynn

[Leanne]

Originally posted by MKSquared


Seriously? It takes me 10 minutes to boil a pot of water, and it takes 3 minutes to go above 700 degrees? Hrm. Maybe I don't have a "typical" stove. ;)

I'm with MkSquared on this - you set your oven to bake things at 350, 400, maybe 450. How often do you set it for 700? Not to mention your cooktop - I really seriously doubt it gets that hot ever when you cook. Scientist here talking. Not sure how they actually got those numbers. I'd love to see it... I may even take a temperature gun home to test their numbers...

Keep in mind too that food in the pan you're cooking with will keep the temperature down. (Why a pot of water takes 10-15 minutes to reach 212 degrees...)

I am imagining cooking on high for 10 minutes. According to them, I would be cooking my food at 700 degrees for 7 of those minutes... I'm imagining black hockey puck chicken breasts! Not to mention the plastic handle of my pan melting off from the radiated heat!

I also just have to add that the melting point of aluminum is 660 degrees. Many pots/pans/trays are Al. Wouldn't that be of more concern?

Sorry to rant - articles like this just kill me.