Fox News shared their findings on the dangers of Teflon non-stick pans. Through the studies from Australian researchers, they have discovered that using your Teflon-coated pan as intended, could still provide health risks through the smallest scratch on it’s surface. How? By releasing millions of tiny plastic particles as you are cooking or washing your Teflon cookware.
“At a micro scale, Raman imaging and algorithmic modeling have identified that broken coating may lead to the release of 2.3 million microplastics and nano plastics.”
Dr. Cheng Fang, one of the authors from this Australian study states, “Given the fact PFAS is a big concern, these Teflon microparticles in our food might be a health concern, [which] needs investigating because we don’t know much about these emerging contaminants.”
Dr. Fang and his team, performed tests using both new and used different non-stick coating pans, along with cooking utensils normally used in such pans like a steel spatula, a barbeque clamp, a stainless steel wool scrubber and a wooden spatula.
One of Dr. Fangs observations was that even if the Teflon cookware isn’t damaged in any way, the coating could still release particles over time. Dr. Fang is correct in a way that you can still be affected by the Teflon, even if not damaged and that is by your cookware coming into contact with high heat. Once Teflon is heated to a high degree, fumes are released from the cookware that are harsh enough to kill a bird, so imagine what such fumes are doing to you and your family. “Flinders University researcher Professor Youhong Tang said the study warns people to be careful about selecting and using utensils to avoid food contamination, but that more research is recommended.”
Musto, Julia. “Non-Stick Pans Could Release Millions of Microplastic Particles in Possible ‘Health Concern,’ Study Says.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 5 Nov. 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/health/non-stick-pans-could-release-millions-microplastic-particles-possible-health-concern-study-says.
