3 ms·

Teflon (PTFE) breaks down and releases PFOA (which is a PFAS chemical) at high temperatures.

gruez 4y ago
1. Are the chemicals of heat breakdown the same as what's being described in the article? I find it strange that everything teflon related is lumped under "PFAS/PFOA", from precursor chemicals[1], the coating itself, its combustion products, to various other applications (eg. firefighting foams or paper takeout containers) 2. The "high temperatures" in this context is above the smoke point of most cooking oils. As long as you're not using it for high temperature applications (eg. searing meat), you're fine. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Fear_River#Suspended_solids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Fear_River#Suspended_soli...
- arcticbull 4y ago
  Starts to break down at 500F which is below the smoke point of avocado oil (520F). It’s objectively easy to hit these numbers on a pan, especially if you leave it for a few minutes one time.
matt123456789 4y ago
Also I’m not a chemist but Wikipedia directly names it as a PFAS. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene
- refurb 4y ago
  PFAS just means “molecule with lots (poly) of fluorines”. The entire class isnt toxic.
Tijdreiziger 4y ago
Wikipedia [1] says: "Non-stick coated cookware has not been manufactured using PFOA since 2013." The source they reference [2] says: > So is teflon safe now? > Absolutely. PTFE is inert in its solid form and will most likely pass through your digestive system with no issue. In addition, the temperatures used for cooking aren’t typically hot enough to release PTFE fumes into the air – though toxicologists are quick to remind people that overheating Teflon coated cookware is a bad idea. The source they reference, a dead-but-archived page on the University of North Carolina's website [3], says: > Assuming you use your cookware appropriately, i.e. not heating it excessively and unattended, always heating the pan with something in it, not scratching off the Teflon and consuming it for dinner, using non-stick pans is relatively safe for humans. Risk of “Teflon flu” due to inhalation of fumes during typical kitchen use is minimal. Ingestion of PTFE is not reported to be toxic and residual PFOA in PTFE-coated pans is minimally transferred to food. However, long-term exposure studies to PTFE-fumes and PFOA have not been conducted so we can’t say that it is completely safe. Regardless, you should keep Larry the bird away from the kitchen. > If you wish to avoid the Teflon risk altogether, stainless steel and cast-iron pans are recommended alternative, albeit not necessarily non-stick, cooking options. So it seems to me that it should be fine, though as a layman, I can't determine the veracity of the sources. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety [2] https://www.bhg.com.au/the-truth-about-teflon-are-non-stick-pans-safe https://www.bhg.com.au/the-truth-about-teflon-are-non-stick-... [3] http://web.archive.org/web/20180523015658/http://tibbs.unc.edu/ask-a-toxicologist-is-it-safe-to-use-teflon-pans/ http://web.archive.org/web/20180523015658/http://tibbs.unc.e...
- mahogany 4y ago
  Honestly, none of the language you're quoting is reassuring. There are qualifiers like "most likely" and "relatively safe", and the not-at-all-reassuring "Ingestion of PTFE is not reported to be toxic". This is very different from "known to be non-toxic". So many industries (in the US at least) operate in a way similar to "shoot first, ask questions later". When it comes to health, it should be the reverse. Clearly they sold the original formulation as safe, until it wasn't, so why trust the new formulation? To me, it's not worth the gamble when we're discussing a new chemical that's being transferred into all of my food. There are plenty of alternatives with a slight decrease in comfort but the benefit of having been tested for hundreds (or thousands) of years.
shadowgovt 4y ago
What temperature? A quick Googling suggests 536 Farenheit. So don't leave your teflon cookware in the oven on self-clean cycle and you should be fine, right?

1. Are the chemicals of heat breakdown the same as what's being described in the article? I find it strange that everything teflon related is lumped under "PFAS/PFOA", from precursor chemicals[1], the coating itself, its combustion products, to various other applications (eg. firefighting foams or paper takeout containers) 2. The "high temperatures" in this context is above the smoke point of most cooking oils. As long as you're not using it for high temperature applications (eg. searing meat), you're fine. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Fear_River#Suspended_solids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Fear_River#Suspended_soli...

arcticbull 4y ago
Starts to break down at 500F which is below the smoke point of avocado oil (520F). It’s objectively easy to hit these numbers on a pan, especially if you leave it for a few minutes one time.

matt123456789 4y ago

Also I’m not a chemist but Wikipedia directly names it as a PFAS. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene

refurb 4y ago
PFAS just means “molecule with lots (poly) of fluorines”. The entire class isnt toxic.

Tijdreiziger 4y ago

Wikipedia [1] says: "Non-stick coated cookware has not been manufactured using PFOA since 2013." The source they reference [2] says: > So is teflon safe now? > Absolutely. PTFE is inert in its solid form and will most likely pass through your digestive system with no issue. In addition, the temperatures used for cooking aren’t typically hot enough to release PTFE fumes into the air – though toxicologists are quick to remind people that overheating Teflon coated cookware is a bad idea. The source they reference, a dead-but-archived page on the University of North Carolina's website [3], says: > Assuming you use your cookware appropriately, i.e. not heating it excessively and unattended, always heating the pan with something in it, not scratching off the Teflon and consuming it for dinner, using non-stick pans is relatively safe for humans. Risk of “Teflon flu” due to inhalation of fumes during typical kitchen use is minimal. Ingestion of PTFE is not reported to be toxic and residual PFOA in PTFE-coated pans is minimally transferred to food. However, long-term exposure studies to PTFE-fumes and PFOA have not been conducted so we can’t say that it is completely safe. Regardless, you should keep Larry the bird away from the kitchen. > If you wish to avoid the Teflon risk altogether, stainless steel and cast-iron pans are recommended alternative, albeit not necessarily non-stick, cooking options. So it seems to me that it should be fine, though as a layman, I can't determine the veracity of the sources. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety [2] https://www.bhg.com.au/the-truth-about-teflon-are-non-stick-pans-safe https://www.bhg.com.au/the-truth-about-teflon-are-non-stick-... [3] http://web.archive.org/web/20180523015658/http://tibbs.unc.edu/ask-a-toxicologist-is-it-safe-to-use-teflon-pans/ http://web.archive.org/web/20180523015658/http://tibbs.unc.e...

mahogany 4y ago
Honestly, none of the language you're quoting is reassuring. There are qualifiers like "most likely" and "relatively safe", and the not-at-all-reassuring "Ingestion of PTFE is not reported to be toxic". This is very different from "known to be non-toxic". So many industries (in the US at least) operate in a way similar to "shoot first, ask questions later". When it comes to health, it should be the reverse. Clearly they sold the original formulation as safe, until it wasn't, so why trust the new formulation? To me, it's not worth the gamble when we're discussing a new chemical that's being transferred into all of my food. There are plenty of alternatives with a slight decrease in comfort but the benefit of having been tested for hundreds (or thousands) of years.

shadowgovt 4y ago

What temperature? A quick Googling suggests 536 Farenheit. So don't leave your teflon cookware in the oven on self-clean cycle and you should be fine, right?