When looking to buy healthy non-stick pans, you may have seen some pans advertising themselves as ‘PFOA Free’. What does this mean? Many people who are looking for healthy & green cookware sets are aware of the devastating effects this chemical can have on both the environment and our body. This article talks about PFOA and its modern substitutes: highlighting their impact on health and the environment. It also offers a truly non-toxic and green alternative for cooking.
What is PFOA?: The History of Teflon
The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) company began producing PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) in 1947 and commercially branded it as ‘Teflon’. Between 1968 and 1976, PFOA and a related compound PFOS were detected to be causing toxicity in the blood serum of consumers. In 1999, this chemical was determined to be toxic and was phased out after a year. But another company, DuPont, started manufacturing it despite being aware of the fact that PFOA causes “cancerous testicular, pancreatic and liver tumors in lab animal” because it was integral to its $1 billion annual profit, according to investigation by a lawyer, Rob Bilott. (Source: NY Times)
The production of two common types of this chemical, PFOS and PFOA were phased out of production in 2002 and 2015 respectively, but these still continue be a part of some imported products. It pollutes the surface layer of ocean water (from industrial waste) and it also finds its way to the environment through wastewater and solid waste streams (from households). (Source: National PFAS Receivers Factsheet)
Studies detected PFOA in finished PTFE products including Teflon cookware, which eventually caused manufacturers to come up with alternative non-stick coatings in Teflon pans. Read on to learn about these new chemicals and their safety.
What Nonstick Coating is now used in Teflon Pans?
GenX is the trademark used for a group of chemicals used in the production of nonstick pans. GenX is produced as a replacement for PFOA by Chemours, a spinoff company of DuPont. However, in lab tests on rats, GenX has been found to cause same health effects as PFOA. While attempting to sell GenX as being a safe replacement for PFOA, DuPont filed 16 reports of “substantial risk of injury to health or the environment” about its new chemical.
Is it Safe for My Health?
Per test results of studies mentioned above, GenX is nearly as toxic as PFOA, if not more. The EPA published a draft toxicity review for GenX and a related compound called PFBS (both part of PFAS family of chemicals), that showed that even small doses of these chemicals could present serious health risks, including harm to prenatal development, the immune system, liver, kidney or thyroid. Clearly, it is not safe for human health.
Is it Good for the Environment?
Studies have shown the presence of this chemical in grass and leaf samples, and in ground water used for drinking near a manufacturing plant in Netherlands. This suggests that these chemicals could also be present in the locally grown food in gardens around the factory site, which means GenX is toxic for the environment.
Protect Both Your Health and the Environment
Does a truly healthy nonstick cookware set exist that offers easy cleaning while still remaining environmentally friendly? The answer lies in our roots. Yes, a time tested cookware that was trusted by civilizations thousands of years ago is still the best alternative to modern toxic non-stick cookware. Keep reading to learn more about it.
A Nonstick Green Cookware Set that Uses no Nonstick Coating
Besides being 100% non-toxic to food, their pots and pans are safe for the environment, too. There is no toxic waste released at any stage- from harvesting clay to handcrafting cookware pieces- and they are also green while in use. Thanks to far-infrared heat cooking, they cook food at low heat which takes about the same time or less. They also keep food warm for 4x longer, thereby saving substantial amount of energy.
If you are looking for an eco-friendly cookware that is nonstick without toxic coatings, then MEC is the right choice! Head over to their online store and order the healthiest cookware set today to experience non-toxic cooking in an all-natural green cookware.
People May Ask
Is PFOA-free Teflon safe?
PFOA-free cookware made from Teflon uses alternative chemicals like GenX for non-stick coating. When the companies started using this newly introduced chemical, insufficient studies were done to test its safety but later, it was found to be about as toxic as PFOA to human health and the environment. As a result, PFOA-free Teflon is not safe.
Which non-stick cookware is PFOA and PTFE free?
The only nonstick cookware free from PFOA, PTFE and any other toxic chemical (like the newly introduced GenX) is natural clay cookware by MEC. MEC doesn’t use any coating to make their cookware non-stick, instead, they hand-finish it in a unique way that makes the pot/pan naturally non-stick after a few uses (fully seasoned).
Why Choose Healthy Cookware? 