How Bad Teflon Is And Why You Should Avoid It?
Non-stick cookware has revolutionized our cooking habits with use of much less oil and by easing the cleanup process associated with cooking. Unfortunately, there are many controversies surrounding the chemical behind the Teflon coated non-stick magic. A cookware with a coating (sprayed, painted, etc) is not durable and eventually peels off. Yes, there are some coatings made from natural ingredients in proper manufacturing procedures but a coating is still a coating.
What is Teflon? Teflon is a trademarked combination of fluoropolymers produced only by the DuPont Company. The company says non-stick pans are completely safe if used according to manufacturers’ instructions. Yet research studies, not to mention lawsuits, suggest that the pans may be bad for you. They can give off potentially harmful fumes at medium to high temperatures, and a chemical crucial to the manufacture of non-stick surfaces but not found in the finished surfaces is prevalent in the environment, including most our blood.
Most of the aluminum cookware sold are in general coated with non-stick chemicals like Teflon. Research study shows at least four of these chemicals never break down in the environment and these particles are widely found in human blood. When heated, cookware coated with Teflon and other non-stick surfaces emits fumes that can kill birds and potentially sicken people.
Within two to five minutes on a stove, cookware coated with Teflon can exceed temperatures at which the coating breaks apart. At these high temperatures the pans emit toxic particles and gases linked to thousands of pet bird deaths and an unknown number of human illnesses each year. In recent tests a generic non-stick frying pan heated on an electric stove-top burner reached 736°F in just over three minutes. At 680°F Teflon pans release at least six toxic gases, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA which is a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. At higher temperatures non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analogy of the WWII nerve gas photogenic. We should not allow Teflon coated pans to reach temperatures above 300°F, as fluropolymers can emit mildly toxic gases if overheated.
You can avoid exposures to the fumes from Teflon and other non-stick cookware by phasing out these products in your kitchen. Also Teflon coated cookware is easy to scratch, so forget about using metal tongs, spatulas, whisks, or spoons with your pan anymore. If you can afford to replace your non-stick cookware now, do so.
It is recommended that you should phase out the use of Teflon cookware in your home. It is always better to buy cookware which has been tested under different cooking circumstances and from a brand you trust. Here is few tips on choosing safer cookware.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is a better alternative to a non-stick cooking surface. Most chefs agree that stainless steel browns foods better than non-stick surfaces.
Cast Iron
Cast iron cookware is referred as “natural non-stick.” Cast iron can be pre-heated to temperatures that will brown meat and will withstand oven temperatures well above what is considered safe for non-stick pans. Cast iron is extremely durable and can now be purchased pre-seasoned, ready-to-use.
Ceramic titanium
There is no Teflon in these pans! They are made with NO PFOA! Most titanium cookware has non-stick surface so that you can minimize the use of oil for cooking. Has an anti-bacterial coating (titanium dioxide) that kills nasty bugs which can cause food poisoning. It is ideally suited for healthy cooking as well as low-fat and fat-free cooking.
Porcelain enamelled cast iron
Enamelled cookware is considered non-reactive because after the firing process is complete, the porcelain coating will not react chemically with other foods.
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