What about Teflon?

The latest on the Teflon debate

Manufacturers say that the Teflon coating in all nonstick cookware is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and won't harm you if it flakes into your food. Despite this, there are lingering questions about Teflon's safety.

In 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a preliminary report that suggested perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA (a chemical used as a processing aid in making fluoropolymer products such as Teflon), may be a carcinogen. High temperatures in the manufacturing process seal the fluoropolymer and destroy the PFOA, according to DuPont. The EPA has not advised consumers to stop using Teflon products because PFOA doesn't end up in the final products. According to an article in the May 2005 issue of MacLean's magazine, DuPont has stated that their final products do not contain PFOA, but many consumers are still concerned.

PFOA aside, Teflon itself has been shown to release fumes at high temperatures (over 500 degrees Fahrenheit) that are toxic to birds. The fumes are also at least somewhat harmful to humans: studies have shown that humans can develop "polymer-fume flu," a common-cold-like reaction, when exposed to an empty nonstick pan that's been heated for approximately 15 minutes in a closed room. Cook's Illustrated performed a similar test with a pan full of food and found that it's very difficult to overheat a nonstick skillet while cooking, because food releases water, cooling the pan. Testers were, however, able to achieve consistently high temperatures using empty pans. DuPont concedes that an empty overheated Teflon-coated pan will release harmful fumes. While the nonprofit Environmental Working Group says 325 degrees is enough to produce these fumes, DuPont says the true figure is closer to 660 degrees.

Most experts say you can safely use Teflon at home over a medium flame. At higher temperatures, opening a window will reduce any exposure to harmful fumes. Manufacturers tend to skate around the Teflon issue: when we contacted All-Clad, the manufacturer of Emerilware Nonstick cookware, a representative told us that the nonstick coating is made by DuPont but is not Teflon. A Calphalon representative told us the nonstick coating used in Simply Calphalon cookware is not Teflon either, but is made by Exxon-Mobil and is manufactured using PTFE.

PTFE is a synthetic fluorocarbon with the chemical name polytetrafluoroethylene. It is most well known as the main ingredient in the DuPont brand called Teflon. While PFOA is what is released in the manufacturing process, PTFE is, according to SCANPAN, a company that manufactures nonstick cookware, "the base compound for any and all nonstick coatings," that provides "the food release." Although free of PFOA, PTFE will still, at high temperatures, release fumes that can be harmful to birds.

A number of lawsuits related to Teflon are pending against DuPont. Class-action litigation on behalf of one-third of the nation's population is making its way through the federal courts. The suit alleges that DuPont has been aware that Teflon could cause harm for 20 years but concealed this fact from the public.

In December 2005, NPR reported that DuPont had agreed to pay more than $10 million in fines for suppressing 20-year-old documents suggesting an expectant mother had passed PFOA to her fetus. NPR also reported that while there is no conclusive evidence that PFOA causes cancer in humans, the EPA has reported that the chemical does not break down readily and has been found in animals as far away as the Arctic Circle.

The EPA explains on its website that PFOA is very persistent in the environment. It has been found at very low levels in the blood of the general U.S. population and causes developmental problems and other adverse effects in laboratory animals. For the latest information on the EPA's ongoing studies of PFOA, see the EPA page on PFOA.

In 2006, nonstick pan manufacturers agreed to phase out use of PFOA by 2015. Perhaps this is what has led to the emergence of PFOA-free cookware in the past year.

PFOA- and/or PTFE-free cookware

There are several new types of PFOA- and/or PTFE-free cookware on the market. SCANPAN, a Danish manufacturer, says its pans have always been PFOA-free because PFOA was extracted during the manufacturing process. The manufacturer further states that it has recently perfected a technology that eliminates the need for PFOA completely. Note that, however, according to the FAQ on SCANPAN's own website, these pans do contain PTFE. SCANPAN notes that PTFE is considered food-safe and is approved by the FDA. We did not find many professional reviews of SCANPAN nonstick cookware (though their set finished near the bottom of the pack in one well-respected review), but feedback from consumers at reviews sites like Cooking.com and Amazon.com is excellent.

A new manufacturer called GreenPan released a PFTE- and PFOA-free line of cookware this year that is sold on the Home Shopping Network. However, there's a furor on several cooking bulletin boards over what consumers believe to be "planted" reviews at HSN by the company, giving the cookware an inflated rating and masking the problems some consumers report: that food begins to stick badly after several uses. We found no professional reviews as of yet for GreenPan cookware, which uses a Thermolon coating. (The manufacturer says that Thermolon is a hybrid polymer nanocomposite nonstick technology.) But planted reviews or not, there are plenty of negative reviews at HSN that report food sticking.

Cuisinart recently released its GreenGourmet line, which it claims is both PFOA-free and PTFE-free. Cuisinart calls its new coating Ceramica, a ceramic-based substance that won't peel off. For this new line of cookware, we found only one professional review in a recent Food & Wine magazine article, where the GreenGourmet 12-inch skillet was recommended among nonstick skillets (pans were tested, but methodology wasn't detailed). At Amazon.com, reviews of the Cuisinart GreenGourmet line are excellent, with consumers giving the 12-inch skillet a 4.5 out of five star rating, but only a handful of owners have weighed in so far.