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February 23, 2006
Teflon®- a Sticky Situation?
Is Teflon® carcinogenic? I've been seeing a lot about this over the last year, and when I got an email asking my opinion on the possible dangers of Teflon®, I thought I'd write about it here. Normally I prefer 'sticking' to more appetizing topics, but I feel informed cooks are better cooks.
I'll continue in the extended entry, so you can skip over this if you're so inclined...
In case you haven't heard about this yet, there has been a lot of debate and now a major lawsuit against Dupont®, claiming that Teflon® is a carcinogen. Actually, it isn't Teflon itself, it's a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, that's used in the production of Teflon that's allegedly the culprit, though there are all sorts of environmental concerns about the process.
I've done some research this morning, and while it's been hard finding articles that aren't sensationalized on way or the other on the topic, here's what I've found:
• Lab rats given large amounts of PFOA get cancer.
• Birds in areas where Teflon is heated to high temperatures suffer from a condition called "Teflon toxicosis,", or "polymer fume fever". An article detailing some of the chemicals released when a Teflon pan is preheated at high temperatures is here. Because their lungs are so sensitive, birds also get sick when oil is heated to the smoking point in a regular skillet as well.
• A study of a West Virginia town where Teflon is produced showed that although the citizens have 80 times the amount of PFOA in their blood streams than typical, they have no higher incidence of cancer than typical Americans.
• According to this article, PFOA is only a manufacturing agent and is not found in finished pans.
• The lawyer, Alan Kluger, has said of his 5 billion dollar lawsuit filed against DuPont®, "I don’t have to prove that it causes cancer. I only have to prove that DuPont lied in a massive attempt to continue selling their product."
My conclusions? First of all, it's crazy to heat a non-stick pan to the temperatures mentioned in the first article. The reason you preheat a pan is to keep food from sticking, and to form a nice crust, which doesn't happen in a non-stick pan anyway. Secondly, cooking in non stick cookware enables you to cook with less fat, which is a good thing. Finally, I think at this point these lawyers don't have a case, they're out to make some money.
Personally, I'm keeping my pans, but you should do your own research and form your own opinion. I'll keep an eye on this, and please email me any links you think I'd find useful.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at February 23, 2006 9:41 AM
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Food news
Comments
Five billion for lying... about something that doesn't cause cancer in humans?
Posted by: Hoodlumman at February 23, 2006 3:20 PM
I love this part:
"If the suit pans out, whatever is left after attorneys' fees would go to replace everyone's cookware, impose a warning label on other Teflon products, and pay for medical monitoring and more research."
If this stuff is dangerous in real world applications to humans, then let's get it off the market, but you shouldn't be able to sue a company before it's actually confirmed. My opinion, of course.
Posted by: the pragmatic chef™ at February 23, 2006 3:27 PM
Scott... I use Calphalon. The PROBLEM is food sticking before it releases - the food and I are not always on the same page here. LOL... any ideas for "non stick" aside from sprays?
Posted by: Shelleigh (aka Pie Shell) at February 23, 2006 6:05 PM
It depends on what you're cooking, Shelleigh. Do you have a specific problem?
If you're pan frying meat, for example, get your pan hot, but not hot enough to kill the birds, of course... I like to put oil on the meat and not in the pan so it doesn't spatter as much, the food you're cooking should also be at room temperature, if possible. Cold meat is much more likely to stick.
Once your food's in the pan with the nicest side down it may stick at first, but if your pan was hot enough it will release all by itself once it forms a nice crust. Hope that helps.
Posted by: the pragmatic chef™ at February 23, 2006 7:02 PM
Is is possible that, we just hit lawyers over the head with Teflon Pans!
Posted by: Paul Brown at February 23, 2006 9:09 PM
Thanks Scott... I think with this ceramic cooktop I tend to put the heat too high... I'm just learning to cook without gas and it is making me wild... wild I say (not in a good way). I long for flame, lol.
It helped.
Thank you.
Posted by: Shelleigh (aka Pie Shell) at February 24, 2006 12:40 AM
I only have one non-stick pan. I use it for scrambled eggs and my wife uses it.
Oh wait, I do have another. But it's a Hello Kitty pink fry pan and isn't for use. I mean, you can use it, but we don't.
For the cooking I do, I can't really think of anything I'd use a non-stick pan for. If I want to do veggies, I usually roast them or use the wok. And I dearly love my crunchy brown bits my solid copper and cast iron produce. Doing fried pork chops in a non-stick makes me weep.
Biggles
Posted by: Dr. Biggles at February 24, 2006 12:00 PM