I used to swear by Teflon. I loved the non-stickiness of it. But, after reading that it may release toxic substances, I switched back to stainless steel and cast iron.
Teflon (also known as PTFE for polytetrafluoroethylene) was invented at Kinetic Chemicals in 1938 by Roy Plunkett. Roy was actually trying to make a new refrigerant when he actually came up with Teflon. It was French engineer Marc Gregiore who first used Teflon to coat a pan. By 1961, “The Happy Pan,” the first Teflon coated frying pan, hit the market.
While I love the fact that nothing sticks to Teflon, I do wonder if it is dangerous to use it. If you heat a Teflon coated pan to between 680 and 920 degrees Fahrenheit, it can release several suspected toxic substances such as trifluoroacetate (TFA) and perfluorooctanic (PFOA). When Johns Hopkins Hospital performed a test of the umbilical cord blood in 2004, 99 percent of the babies had PFOA in their blood. Now those at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health are doing research to determine if the PFOA could be altering hormone levels in the infants.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received an advisory from an independent scientific review panel saying that PFOA is likely a carcinogen. That means it is likely to cause cancer. A study published in Nature in 2001 showed that when Teflon coated pans were overheated, they released chlorofluorocarbons, a greenhouse gas.
But, all the research on Teflon is not in, so how can you make sure you are cooking with safe pans? DuPont says Teflon coated pans are safe and there has never been a recall issued by the EPA. The EPA website itself states “At the present time, EPA does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related products that contain PFOA.” If you continue to use Teflon coated pans, be sure to use normal cooking temperatures. Never place Teflon coated pans in the oven unless the pan specifically says it is safe up to a certain degree.
And, don’t be fooled thinking that other non-stick pans may be better to use than those that say Teflon. Teflon is a trademarked name used by DuPont. Other companies use the same non-stick coating, but list is as PTFE rather than Teflon. Guess what? It’s a different name for the same thing.
Teflon may indeed be safe, but in addition to health concerns, I also had a problem with the coating getting holes poked in it because I used stainless steel utensils, so for my house, it is just easier to use stainless steel and cast iron.
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