5 ms·

I have never seen any conclusive evidence for nonstick cookware being dangerous with normal usage. I know that PTFE shouldn't get too hot, and temperatures abov

by qq4 5y ago

I have never seen any conclusive evidence for nonstick cookware being dangerous with normal usage. I know that PTFE shouldn't get too hot, and temperatures above 500F are rare for range cooking.

hnick 5y ago
Even if you burn the heck out of it, it has little direct risk if you're not a bird. I think the worst recorded case had someone fall asleep, burn the pan down to the base metal, and fill his apartment with smoke. All he got were some flu-like breathing symptoms (polymer fume fever) and a few days in hospital to monitor. So the chances of problems from incidentally getting the pan too hot via normal cooking seem low. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4544973/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4544973/ That said, cancer is apparently everywhere these days so that's a possibility, but no links are yet known. Though I do steer towards steel and iron anyway since I like to get a good sear which is easier with iron, and using metal tools is just more fun.
jbverschoor 5y ago
Cooking in a pan is in general 400-500F. But "normal use" also means you occasionally burn, overheat or scratch the pan. At that point your nonstick pan releases toxic fumes, and starts to deteriorate. PTFE is banned here, after research showed correlation with cancer. With "normal use" there would be 0 car incidents, 0 plane crashes, 0 shootings.
- qq4 5y ago
  400F, yes but most cooking oils have a smoke point below 500F. Even then, where is the evidence? Where exactly is PTFE banned and where is the strong correlation?
  - jbverschoor 5y ago
    Netherlands
    - qq4 5y ago
      That's one half of the question.
kolinko 5y ago
There was serious evidence regarding PFOA, and a scandal relating to hiding information about toxicity. The chemical companies claim that what they replaced it with is safer alternatives, but after reading this article I seriously wouldn’t trust them. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-b...
atatatat 5y ago
"Normal usage" for many Westerners, and surely other nations, includes destroying the surface coating with metal utensils while cooking, and then eating small particles of the nonstick (because if they're not attached to the pan anymore...where do you think they are?)
- foobar33333 5y ago
  Even intended use means using plastic utensils which release toxic crap when heated and chip off leaving little plastic bits in your food. There is no safe way to use non stick pans.

by qq4 5y ago

I have never seen any conclusive evidence for nonstick cookware being dangerous with normal usage. I know that PTFE shouldn't get too hot, and temperatures above 500F are rare for range cooking.

hnick 5y ago

Even if you burn the heck out of it, it has little direct risk if you're not a bird. I think the worst recorded case had someone fall asleep, burn the pan down to the base metal, and fill his apartment with smoke. All he got were some flu-like breathing symptoms (polymer fume fever) and a few days in hospital to monitor. So the chances of problems from incidentally getting the pan too hot via normal cooking seem low. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4544973/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4544973/ That said, cancer is apparently everywhere these days so that's a possibility, but no links are yet known. Though I do steer towards steel and iron anyway since I like to get a good sear which is easier with iron, and using metal tools is just more fun.

jbverschoor 5y ago

Cooking in a pan is in general 400-500F. But "normal use" also means you occasionally burn, overheat or scratch the pan. At that point your nonstick pan releases toxic fumes, and starts to deteriorate. PTFE is banned here, after research showed correlation with cancer. With "normal use" there would be 0 car incidents, 0 plane crashes, 0 shootings.

qq4 5y ago
400F, yes but most cooking oils have a smoke point below 500F. Even then, where is the evidence? Where exactly is PTFE banned and where is the strong correlation?
- jbverschoor 5y ago
  Netherlands
  - qq4 5y ago
    That's one half of the question.

kolinko 5y ago

There was serious evidence regarding PFOA, and a scandal relating to hiding information about toxicity. The chemical companies claim that what they replaced it with is safer alternatives, but after reading this article I seriously wouldn’t trust them. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-b...

atatatat 5y ago

"Normal usage" for many Westerners, and surely other nations, includes destroying the surface coating with metal utensils while cooking, and then eating small particles of the nonstick (because if they're not attached to the pan anymore...where do you think they are?)

foobar33333 5y ago
Even intended use means using plastic utensils which release toxic crap when heated and chip off leaving little plastic bits in your food. There is no safe way to use non stick pans.