We threw away all our nonstick pans.
Not because I’d done some exhaustive investigation into PFAS.
They were flaking.
I don’t know whether eating tiny pieces of a frying pan is dangerous. I just decided I’d rather not eat the frying pan.
We’ve been through this for years. Buy a good nonstick pan. Take care of it. Wooden utensils. No metal. Do everything you’re supposed to do.
About a year later, the coating would start coming off.
We even bought the Ninja pans that were supposed to last forever.
They didn’t.
So Peggy and I finally said the heck with it and switched to cast iron.
And I love cast iron.
Ninety percent of the time.
Then I want three or four scrambled eggs.
Holy moly!
Suddenly nonstick cookware seems like one of mankind’s greatest achievements.
So I started wondering whether we’d overreacted. If I bought another nonstick pan and it eventually got scratched, would I actually need to throw the darn thing away?
Turns out the answer is a little strange.
The coating on most nonstick cookware is PTFE, commonly known by the brand name Teflon. And yes, damaged PTFE coatings can shed tiny particles. Researchers have demonstrated that in laboratory experiments.
Some of the numbers sound terrifying. One study estimated that a badly damaged coating could release millions of micro- and nanoparticles under its experimental conditions.
Which naturally becomes:
YOUR FRYING PAN IS POISONING YOU.
Except that’s not what the study showed.
It showed that particles can come off.
It did not show that eating those particles causes disease.
In fact, Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment says tiny PTFE particles accidentally swallowed from a scratched coating aren’t expected to harm us because PTFE is extremely inert and isn’t digested. The FDA also says properly manufactured nonstick coatings are tightly bound to the cookware, with negligible migration of the smaller PFAS molecules people are often worried about.
There’s another confusion here too.
PTFE isn’t the same thing as PFOA, the chemical that was historically used in manufacturing some fluoropolymers and has legitimate health concerns. PFOA was phased out by major U.S. manufacturers years ago.
So scratched nonstick cookware doesn’t appear to be the toxic emergency the internet sometimes makes it out to be.
There is something I wouldn’t mess around with, though.
Heat.
Get PTFE ridiculously hot—around 680°F—and it can begin breaking down and releasing hazardous fumes. That’s a documented problem.
So don’t leave an empty nonstick pan sitting on high heat while you wander off to see what Peggy is doing.
But scratches?
We know particles can come off.
We don’t have good evidence that accidentally swallowing those particles is hurting people.
Which brings me right back to our kitchen.
Would I keep using a pan that’s badly scratched and flaking?
Nope.
Not because I’ve discovered it’s poisoning me.
Because it’s coming apart.
A frying pan isn’t a family heirloom. If pieces of the darn thing are ending up in my food, I’m replacing it.
But after looking into all this, I may also do something I didn’t expect when I started:
Buy another little nonstick pan.
Just for my scrambled eggs.
And when it starts flaking apart in a year?
I’ll complain about it.
Throw it away.
And probably buy another one.