Nonstick Cookware that Makes Us Sick
Ridding your Kitchen of PFAS or "Forever Chemicals", Cookware Edition
With Stale Bread and Moonshine, I occasionally get up on my soapbox or breadbox and have a definitive opinion about living well. Nonstick chemical-coated cookware contains PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), or, as I see them, Problems for All Systems, aka “forever chemicals”.
How do we rid ourselves of this menace? First, we must understand that PFAS is never OK for anything. Then, take small steps to eradicate them from our lives.
From cookware to most things takeout, including coffee cups, soup pints, sauces, and drinking water, it seems we can’t escape them. Here is one way you can feel good eliminating them from your kitchen.
I have had the same stainless steel All-Clad pans from our wedding registry at Williams-Sonoma since 1999. Luckily, only one of them had a nonstick PFAS coating. Yes, pans should last decades. Cast iron lasts forever. Nonstick-coated pans, even the newer ones with “safer” chemicals, only last two to three years and less if scratched or overheated.
If you have nonstick-coated pans from before 2015, they contain EPA-deemed “hazardous chemicals”—two types of PFAS: Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Please get rid of them. You can throw them in the blue recycling bin in Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, CA. For other areas, check Earth911.com, which provides information on how to recycle them.
Even if marketed free of PFOA, some of those may use a substance called PTFE to make them, which is still a PFAS. Whether it be nonstick from All-Clad, Calphalon, Rachel Ray, Teflon, or T-fal, toss any of these nonstick-coated pans.
While the nonstick chemical-coated pans advertise safety up to 260C/500F, you may not watch them like a hawk on the stove to ensure they don’t overheat. Once the pan reaches 260C/500F, it releases toxic chemicals into the air, which causes flu-like symptoms. Using the wrong utensils also compromises the pans; scratch the coating, and the pans are no longer safe.
Stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron, enameled cast iron, or copper are still the best cooking vessels. Nonstick makes sense only for skillets. I suggest an 8”, 10”, and 12” pan for those. I often put my pans in the oven, so a metal handle is essential. Cast Iron skillets are ideal for frying, searing meats, sauteeing tofu or dry cooking mushrooms, baking bread, and making Dutch baby pancakes.
You should use silicone or wood utensils for cast iron and ceramic-coated pans. If you have plastic utensils, toss them, too. You guessed it—PFAS are in those.
To avoid PFAS for cooking every day:
Take inventory of your pans
Toss or Recycle any pans with nonstick coatings made before 2015 and newer ones with PTFE or Teflon.
Use your seasoned cast iron skillet more, or treat yourself to new options. Suggestions below.
CARING FOR YOUR CERAMIC-COATED SKILLETS
Let the pan cool before washing
Hand wash them with warm, soapy water and a soft sponge.
Use Baking soda with a soft sponge for stubborn remnants.
Stack pans with felt pads or pot holders between them
Avoid frying in them (cast iron shines for this)
Cook tomatoes and other acidic foods in these instead of cast iron.
SKILLET SET LINKS
Stanley Tucci for GreenPan, Made In Italy
Caraway Home, Made in China
Made In CeramiClad, Made in the USA
Lodge Cast Iron, Made in the USA
Finex Cast Iron Cookware Co., Made in the USA
A HEALTH NOTE FROM THE EPA ON PFAS
Current peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to:
Reproductive effects such as decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women.
Developmental effects or delays in children, including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes.
Increased risk of some cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.
Reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine response.
Interference with the body’s natural hormones.
Increased cholesterol levels and/or risk of obesity.