Non-Stick Pots & Pans: Are they SAFE?

LuvMySoldier · **Non-Stick Pots & Pans: Are they SAFE?**

Here's an interesting article I found, claiming that non-stick pots & pans may be hazardous to our health!!

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) helps puts the slippery into non-stick pans. When non-stick was introduced to North American consumers in the early 1960s, it was heralded as a miraculous time-saver. Later, the health-conscious used them to trim the amount of cooking oils and butter they ate. But more than 40 years after non-stick cookware was invented, there remains uncertainty about the household staple. As early as the mid-’70s, veterinarians warned that fumes emitted from the pans when heated above 350 degrees Celsius - by leaving an empty pan on a burner, for instance - are toxic to pet birds, potentially causing breathing difficulties and death. And because PFOA doesn’t break down under normal conditions, it tends to accumulate in places like our bodies.

Research released in 2002 by the 3M Company found the chemical in 96 percent of children tested. The debate surrounding the safety of PFOA recently intensified following a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory panel report that found it a likely - though not a certain - cause of cancer in humans. Scratched cookware doesn’t appear to be any more dangerous than freshly coated pans. Health Canada isn’t warning consumers off the pans, but is reviewing the situation. Environmental advocates suggest iron or stainless cookware is your best bet, and regarding non-stick, while there’s no definite answer, that pet bird may prove to be the canary in the coal mine.

What do YOU think?
What's in YOUR home?

As for me, I cook with each - both non-stick and stainless steel.
Depends on what I'm cooking.

vioburn · 09-12-2007, 07:30 PM

I do not like to use non-stick cookware. DH has a non-stick egg pan, but I refuse to use it. I do not believe it is safe, at all.

kellytime · 09-12-2007, 08:05 PM

It's so much easier to use non-stick cookware.... so I had to get rid of them to resist the temptation to use them "just once more..."

I've been reading about dangers of Teflon for years, and finally we are completely free of it.

I use stainless steel... and after having many things STUCK to the bottom and being very frustrated, I have finally learned how to avoid having things get stuck! I'm pretty good at using them now!

Stormy · 09-13-2007, 05:58 AM

I am guilty of 'I know I shouldn't use this but one more time' thing as well. I got some lovely pans from my MIL but...I think I'm going to just put them somewhere else and not use them. Not completely get rid of them, that would hurt dh too much, but just put them where they are not accessible and convenient.

What bothers me even more are the 'stain release' pants I bought ds a few months ago that have Teflon in them! What was I thinking? Thankfully he grows quickly and won't be wearing them for long.

booker81 · 09-13-2007, 06:31 AM

I personally keep mine, but I'm careful with not using them at super high temps, or "cooking" them with nothing in them.

Heck, they've proved cooking food on the grill causes cancer. Burning food (which I do EVERY time I use stainless) causes cancer.

I'm sure lighting the range on fire three times in two weeks was not good for my health either (that SMELLED), but I choose my battles.

I worked doing EPA test methods on water, soil and air until I left because of this pregnancy. If you want scary, you should know what is in the air you breath, soil you walk on and water you drink - and what is NOT regulated. You want really scary? Look up "TCE" - I've never seen an environmental sample without it

Unfortunately, as humans, we've done a crack-up job of destroying our world

Using Teflon is just another battle that one needs to choose to fight or not. If you are good at cooking with stainless or the like, then go for getting rid of it! For folks like me, it's either the grill or Teflon. DH doesn't like using the fire extinguisher in the house!

cathleeninnh · 09-13-2007, 10:25 AM

Absolutely right, we choose our battles. There are so many things that can get you riled up and worried about. It is irresponsible to keep your head stuck in the sand, but I try to make reasoned decisions and not stress as much as I used to.

I know that some of my decisions would scare others but my life is worlds calmer and I am vary happy and healthier than I have ever been.

I absolutely believe that stress and emotional turmoil cause way more illnesses than teflon use.

That said, I try to keep toxins down in my house. Homemade cleaners and such.

Cathleen

Me&My2girls · 09-13-2007, 11:10 AM

I think there are a lot of stories like this that get published- look at the story years ago that was published that cell phones increased your risk of cancer (because of the waves produced between the phone and the tower)...if I am correct, people haven't stoped using their cell phones. The same types of stories were published about heating blankets, eatting Jell-O (long ago!!!) and other things.
I have two non-stick pans and I use them off and on with no worries at all. It is only if you don't care for them properly that they will cause problems. Don't use items that will scratch the surface of them, don't put them in water when they are still hot (this wrecks any pan surface) and don't heat them with nothing in the pan...

Oregano · 09-13-2007, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathleeninnh

Absolutely right, we choose our battles. There are so many things that can get you riled up and worried about. It is irresponsible to keep your head stuck in the sand, but I try to make reasoned decisions and not stress as much as I used to.

I know that some of my decisions would scare others but my life is worlds calmer and I am vary happy and healthier than I have ever been.

I absolutely believe that stress and emotional turmoil cause way more illnesses than teflon use.

That said, I try to keep toxins down in my house. Homemade cleaners and such.

Cathleen

ITA

I don't use teflon pans just because I never bought them and weren't interested in them, not because of any health risks, just a personal preference.

vioburn · 09-14-2007, 03:55 PM

Properly seasoned cast iron pans are non-stick and last forever.

LuvMySoldier · 09-14-2007, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vioburn

Properly seasoned cast iron pans are non-stick and last forever.

ITA!! Wish I still had mine that my Mom bought me from Cracker Barrell!!

Takes getting used to cooking in them, but they're the best!! It's all in the "seasoning"..."cooking" them while greased, in the oven....