A few weeks ago I was cooking some scrambled eggs when I noticed that our non-stick pans had scratches on them. I remembered reading some articles a while back about how the coating on non-stick pans contains harmful chemicals. The idea of buying and cooking organic foods only to potentially poison them with yet more chemicals really irritated me.
Scratches on my non-stick pan
So, I decided to put those pans aside and learn how to cook with the stainless steel pans we were given for a wedding gift five years ago.
The new stainless steel set
But I also wanted to know more about what non-stick pans are made of, and whether they are unsafe. Turns out polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFEs) are found in non-stick cooking products and they degrade at temperatures above 500 degrees. When we use pots and pans at high temperatures they emit gas, releasing harmful chemicals into the air and into our food. PTFE fumes have killed hundreds of domestic birds and cause flu-like symptoms in humans. Non-stick pans also contain perfluorooctanoic acids (PFOAs) which are supposedly not unhealthy for us, but are unhealthy for the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of eliminating PFOAs in consumer products by 2015.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to cook my food in a product that creates gases toxic enough to kill the family bird. And surprisingly enough, the same chemical used in nonstick cookware is also used in the linings of nonstick packaging, like for microwave popcorn and some fast-food containers.
The EWG provides the following tips regarding your every-day exposure to PFOAs:
You can avoid any exposure to these chemicals by following these tips:
- Never preheat your nonstick cookware on high. Empty pans can reach high temperatures very quickly. Stick to as low a temperature as possible to safely cook the food.
- Don’t put nonstick cookware in an oven over 500 degrees.
- Run an exhaust fan over the stove while using nonstick cookware.
- Never cook on Teflon or other nonstick cookware with a pet bird in the kitchen. The fumes from an overheated pan can kill a bird in seconds.
- Opt for cookware that is made from safer materials like cast iron.
- Reduce your consumption of microwave popcorn and fast foods.
To reduce your exposure to the chemicals in plastic, use these strategies:
- Use a paper towel instead of plastic wrap in the microwave.
- Don’t microwave food in plastic containers (put food on a plate instead).
- Use safer dishware made from materials like glass or stainless steel.
- Avoid use of plastic containers with the number 3 or 7 on them. Plastics with the number 1 (typically used for water and soda bottles) are single use only. Recycle after use.
- Use tempered glass baby bottles instead of plastic. If you use plastic bottles, don’t heat them.
- Store food in glass or Pyrex containers, rather than plastic. (See 10 Ways to “eco-makeover” Your Kitchen)
- Discard scratched or worn plastic containers.
- Hand wash plastics to reduce wear and tear.
We have been researching how to properly recycle ‘unusable’ pots and pans, and hope to post an article over the next few days with several options.
- What type of cookware do you use?
- What do you like/dislike about yours?
- Heather
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It’s as if you read my mind. We bought new Pyrex food storage this month, because I was convinced we would be poisoning ourselves slowly if we put it in the microwave. Now, if I need to stop with the popcorn…
Oh, good! It beats having to put your food into yet another dish before microwaving! Too much bpa in those plastic containers. And funny you should mention the popcorn! I will be writing a post soon on how to make popcorn the old-fashioned way, in a pot with a lid. I had to read a few “how-to” articles to do that! I didn’t even know you could make popcorn without a popcorn machine.
I’m curious about your comment on plastic baby bottles. We just put Michael’s baby bottles away this weekend (as he’s graduated onto sippy cups — go, toddlerhood!), but are plastic baby bottles unsafe? We used the playtex drop-in system. As you know, daycare typically heats up the bottles in a warmer. Is it harmful if the liner (as in the playtex system) is heated up? Have you come across anything in your research about bottle liners?
My younger sister is pregnant, and I’ve been helping her with her registry. Do I need to change my recommendation on the playtex drop-in system and give her an alternative?
Andy, unless the bottles are ‘BPA free,’ then they likely have BPA in them. I don’t think that heating ‘bpa free’ bottles raises the same level of concern. However, I’m not sure about the liners. I’ll look into that and will get back to you. I can’t imagine that they’d still be making BPA liners with BPA. I think the same can be said for bags of ‘steam ready’ vegetables that you can buy from the grocery store. Many people steam their frozen veggies in plastic. I will do some research and get back to you!
Andrea – we use the playtex drop in system as well. The liners are BPA free even if the bottles aren’t. We saved our bottles from our first child and they are NOT BPA free. We bought a few new ones this year for our 2nd baby and they ARE BPA free. We know this because when they heat them at daycare, the BPA free bottles melted. The ones we saved from three years ago do not melt! How crazy is that? In either case, the liners are BPA free and safe. BPA is what makes the bottles *hard* so I doubt it was ever in the liners.
Heather – if you find out something different, definitely post it!
Thanks!
Joni
Thank you so much for weighing in here, Joni! Hadn’t had a chance to look into this yet.
I like Andrea’s questions! I’ve stopped using the microwave for just about everything but heating up water to warm a bottle. I use both Avent and the Playtex drop-ins.
Do they have glass sippy cups? probably not . . . sounds dangerous!
My sister and I did an experiment over Christmas that you might have heard others doing. We planted seeds in 6 identical little containers. Then we boiled water on the stove, stored it and labeled it. We did the same thing but boiled the water in the microwave. Then we watered the plants, with some getting only the microwave water and the others getting only the stove water. The “microwave” plants took twice as long to germinate and then only grew about an inch before dying. The “stove” plants were growing so well we had to call off the experiment–the windowsill ran out of room! I’d heard that the microwave altered nutrients and this little in-home experiment was proof enough for me!
I’ve always popped my popcorn on the stove–I’m a popcorn addict!!!!
Wow, I hadn’t heard about that experiment. You’ve convinced me, Talia! I am not sure about glass sippy cups. I think the best thing for toddler age kids are stainless steel squirt bottles – as soon as they can sip from a straw. Klean Kanteen makes a good one. In fact, I just ordered one for both of my kids (and for me, too). Since 50% of bottled water is tap water anyways, we’re making a point of not buying bottled water anymore. Here is a link.
One more thing, LivingSocial.com has a daily deal TODAY for those folks interested in ordering one a stainless steel Klean Kanteen, etc. Spend $10 for a $20 Amazon giftcard: http://livingsocial.com/deals/21336-20-amazon-com-gift-card. So you could get the Klean Kanteen above for $10 and still have a $5 credit on Amazon.
I noticed my waffle maker, which is non-stick, started leaching a plastic-y flavour. I haven’t used it since and need to find a replacement.
As for non-stick pans, I totally agree. And I’m sure my pan has intruded our food because it’s no longer non-stick. I’ve got it soaking in soapy water to try to remove whatever hubby burnt on to it. Maybe it should just disappear…
I have several stainless steel pots and pans which are used frequently and bare the brunt of my culinary musings. I would like some cast-iron to add to my reporatoire.
Let us know how to safely dispose of these non-stick pans!
Hahaha, hold onto that pan for one day longer, midnitechef. I will have some really unique disposal options listed in my post tomorrow.
Heather – I love the idea of switching to cast iron. My dad used cast iron cookware and everything he cooked was amazing! Though he also made everything from scratch (usually from our garden). I’m a little intimidated by how to manage the “seasoning” of that type of cookware but am just going to go for it! We bought some stainless steel pots a few years ago and also use the Le Cresuet dutch oven for lots of meals. Your article has convinced me that I need to work on replacing all of our non-stick cookware. Good excuse to go shopping! =)
I’m also working on re-learning how to do canning and freezing so we can grow our own organic food! My family did this when I was growing up (out of necessity, not really for “organic”) and I helped a lot but it’s been years since I’ve even thought about it! But def. don’t want to grow healthy good and throw it in a pan of chemicals!
My mom used a cast iron skillet, too! In fact, I think she still uses it. Those things last FOREVER!
I’d also love to pair up with you this summer in learning how to can and freeze! One of my Summer projects is to grow a garden. I’m mostly interested in growing and freezing/canning tomatoes, since canned tomatoes are high in BPA (due to the acidity). Would also love to freeze peppers, green beans and other veggies that we eat all the time. Can’t wait!
I learned the hard way about the toxicity of Teflon when several years ago I accidentally left the stove on and in a matter of minutes it killed my two parakeets
…I try to cook in my stainless steel pots and pans as much as possible, but we haven’t done away with the non-stick pans altogether yet. Reading this has me inspired to do just that.
In response to some of the comments here: I use BPA-free plastic bottles, but even then I don’t microwave the bottle. I measure out the water in my glass Pyrex measuring cup and heat the water in that before pouring it in the bottle.
I am so sorry to hear about your parakeets.
Re: bottles, I transitioned my first daughter to formula at 8 mos, and bought baby water (by the gallon) at Target to add to her bottles. So I didn’t need to heat her water at home – she drank it at room temp.
Heather, have you done any research on safety of aluminum? I do a lot of baking in disposable aluminum pans or on aluminum foil to avoid cleaning up. Also, I am assuming that non-stick cookie pans contain Teflon or Aluminum. What do you do your cookie baking on?
Aleks, I haven’t done any research on aluminum. On a quick search right now it looks like it should be safe, but that’s assuming that no aluminum foil ends up in your food and that your foil is not non-stick (some foil apparently is non-stick these days – the companies say that it’s safe, but will not disclose the ingredient that makes it non-stick…so I would be weary). I’m not sure about cookie pans, but if they’re non-stick then they definitely have the same material on them. I bake on everything from pyrex to stone (you can use a pizza stone to bake cookies!), dutch ovens (for chicken, pork cops), and a few regular cookie sheets (not non-stick). You can use eco-friendly parchment paper on regular cookie sheets (they sell it at Wegman’s) for easy clean-up.