1y ago

Is it safe to use pans with peeling nonstick coating?

I have a set of 3 Bra Premiere non-stick frying pans that I've used for a while. The coating on them says "Teflon Innovations without PFOA". Recently I've noticed that on the most used pan, the 26cm one, the Teflon coating has started to peel off.

I know that Teflon coatings can release harmful fumes and chemicals if overheated, but what about if the coating is physically peeling? Is it still safe to cook with them? Or should I stop using especially the 26cm one? I don't want to keep exposing my family to anything dangerous unknowingly. Any advice if these types of pans are still safe to cook with if the nonstick surface is peeling would be appreciated!

165 comments

First of all, if you're going to buy a fancy expensive non-stick pan, spend the money and buy non-metal utensils to use with it.
Second, if you want to keep using metal utensils, buy anodized aluminum. It's not perfectly non-stick, but it's close and it can take a beating.
- We got a set of stainless pots and pans last year and as long as you heat the pan before you put food in it, I've had less sticking than in my old non stick pans.
- First of all, if you’re going to buy a fancy expensive non-stick pan, ~~spend the money and buy non-metal utensils to use with it.~~ don't.
  FTFY. Expensive non-stick has no practical benefit over cheap non-stick. They all wear out in the same amount of time regardless of price, so you might as well buy the cheap stuff so you don't feel as bad when it's time to throw it out.
  Otherwise, I'd prefer tri-ply stainless clad aluminum to anodized.
  
  In the pan itself sure, but there's a lot of difference in the handle & weight between cheap and fancy though. All of my cheap ass nonsticks have had the plastic handles fall off before they start peeling
- Anodized aluminum is porous, that's how the dye stays attached. Also aluminum is not recommended for use with acidic foods. I would personally avoid it.
  
  Aluminum is porous. Hard anodized aluminum is not. That's the whole point of anodizing the aluminum, so that it creates a barrier that stops it from reacting with acids.
- I have parrots so no telfon anything in my house. Bought two Green Pan ceramic skillets fairly cheap and they are still going strong a decade later. Definitely don't use metal utensils in them.
  
  What does parrots have to do with cookware?

Do you want to eat teflon? 'Cause that's how you end up eating teflon.
In theory, the teflon should continue to be inert as it passes through your digestive tract, but don't do that. It's time to throw out the pan.
Related advice: non-stick is overrated to begin with. Replace all your nonstick pans with tri-ply stainless clad aluminum, cast iron (enameled or not), carbon steel, etc..
If you insist on having a teflon pan, recognize it for the semi-disposable item it is: get the cheapest one you can find, use it only for things that really need it (e.g. eggs), and accept that you're going to be throwing it out and replacing it every couple of years.
- I don't even think you need one for eggs necessarily. I switched from PTFE nonstick to all metal (stainless/carbon steel and cast iron) a few years back. Eggs were no problem once I figured out heat control. I cook scrambled eggs and omelettes every week with no sticking.
  I did eventually get a ceramic nonstick for making soft tofu in a sticky sauce. Definitely don't try that in a stainless steel pan. It worked okay in the carbon steel wok, but was obnoxious to clean.
  
  I don’t even think you need one for eggs necessarily.
  Oh, for sure, you don't! I didn't phrase my previous comment correctly: what I meant to convey is that if you must have a teflon pan, only use it for the very few special things that benefit from it the most instead of as a general-purpose pan.
- non-stick is overrated to begin with
  I'd say it's correctly rated. It does the no-stick well while not being as durable. In my experience that's what people expect from it.
  
  I've never known anyone in real life who owns Teflon cookware who thinks it's a concern in any way. If they saw any issue with their 15 year old teflon skillet, it's that it visually looks bad from all the scratches

There is an episode of the Dave Chang show podcast that covers this. They have a professor on to cover the science of different pans. If I remember correctly, it should be safe as it will through your digestive system. The bigger issue is overheating Teflon. That being said, you still don't really want non food in your food, and that pan is likely pretty worthless from a non-stick perspective
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gJsAHAFP1MNZX5hZ7lA61

I've looked into this when buying pans, I'd say it's still unsafe. Apparently in 2013 they changed their formulation so the chemicals aren't toxic and if ingested it's inert so it doesn't affect you at all.
With all that, I still don't trust non-stick and bought myself a stainless steel pan and I love it. It's easy to maintain and when cooking properly most things don't really stick either.
- Would you have resources or advice about cooking properly on a stainless steel pan ?
  
  Preheat the empty pan. You'll know it's hot enough when you throw water droplets on and it beads and dances around. Depending on the pan and situation, they're pretty sensitive to heat so youd mainly cook on a low or medium.
  Then use a good amount of oil and/or butter. I've even cooked eggs without much hassle.
  
  Preheat and use a decent amount of oil
  
  You often need less heat than you think. Use oil. Pretty much everything should cook better in a stainless with a little bit of learning curve, except eggs.* Yes, even fish. Keep steel wool and barkeeper's friend handy for scrubbing them back to a shiny polish.
  *Cook eggs in a non stick that you use for basically nothing but eggs.
  
  Also try not to load it with a lot of food. I sometimes need to, and when I do, it seems to cool the pan a bit and the food starts to stick. I normally just raise the heat a bit.

What did you do to the poor thing? Looks like you've been stabbing it with a fork 24/7 for years. Toss it, and be (a lot) more careful with the next one - or skip nonstick entirely. They already have a finite lifetime when not abused, and if you manage to ruin the coat in one spot that's a hotspot for "scaling off" more.
Stainless steel can take a beating, though, go nuts.
- Cast iron is non-stick and so much easier to clean
  
  Cast iron is nice, I recommended stainless because I assume someone who treats pans like this would ruin cast iron too.
  
  Unless of course you want to use a dishwasher. Even manually it really isn't 'so much easier to clean' and you have to spend time seasoning it.

No, it's toxic. Replace it with carbon steel, stainless steel, or cast iron.

My girlfriend is a materials scientist specialising in non-stick coatings.
The first time she came to my house, I had to throw away all teflon with even a scratch on it. She said once the surface is broken it will leach chemicals into your food.
She said they are perfectly safe whilst the coating is in tact and uses non-stick pans herself. Just replace them as soon as you notice the surface is broken.
- Just replace them as soon as you notice the surface is broken.
  So like twice a month?
  
  Don't use metal on your pans maybe?

"Safe" is a relative term. Is it going to set your house on fire? No. Is it going to release harmful gasses while you cook and leech toxic metals into your food and slowly poison you? Yeah, probably. But, like, how old are you? Maybe you're like 98 years old and don't have that much longer to live anyway.
Fuck's smatterchew? Throw that shit out and get a new pan. Damn.
- I think generally it's considered safe apart from the gases, but that's an issue if you heat it to a much too high of a temperature. And it seems like they make you feel sick but it passes in few hours.
  I have never heard anyone manage to get that though. Maybe if you forget the pan on the stove, but then you wouldn't be standing there breathing the fumes? I dunno

I got tired of seeing my teflon-coated pans wear out like that or lose their non-stickiness, it bothered me to realize that the 'premium cookware' I was buying was temporary trash I'd need to replace every couple of years.
I retired my teflon cookware and now have just steel and cast iron (and ceramic-coated cast iron) and I don't miss teflon-coated cookware at all.
Sure, sometimes I end up with stuff stuck to my pans, but realistically that was true with my 'non-stick' pans as well. The nice thing about cast iron and steel is that with use, they seem to get better, whereas the teflon pans start out nice but deteriorate in the way they work. When I do end up with stuff stuck to the pan, I can scrub that clean in a few seconds with a steel scrubber or scraper, whereas stuck-on stuff with teflon (the stuff the dishwasher didn't get, anyhow), seemed to demand the extra-soft scrubber (and lots of time, because the soft scrubber doesn't work as well).
- I have one 8 inch Teflon pan I bought in 2012 for French omelletes. It's only ever seen a plastic fork and spatula, medium heat, still looks new

Did you know that if you use Teflon pans in a house with pet birds they might die from the fumes? Since we historically used canaries to detect dangerous gasses in coal mines, might we take that as an indication that Teflon pans should not be used at all?
The scratched ones are bad and should not be used. Going forward you should ditch all your nonstick pans and buy cast iron or stainless steel.
- FWIW seasoning a cast iron can kill birds too. So can the fumes frommicrowave popcorn.
  
  I couldn't find any sources for this. Do you have any?

My stainless steel cookware set has worked better and lasted longer than every non-stick pan I have ever owned.
- Ugh... I've tried this route... I really have, but shit like eggs sticking like a mother fucker is just too annoying. Unless you drench the pan in oil.
  I've switched to ceramic non-stick, I'm sure it's not perfect either but you gotta make compromises.
  
  I've dedicated myself to figuring this out. It's not that you have to drench it in oil, but there needs to be enough to cover the pan.
  The most important part though is that the pan is heated up enough when you crack eggs on it. And give the eggs a little bit of time to cook before flipping them.
  It takes a lot of practice and you're going to be eating scrambled eggs instead of fried eggs for a while. But keep at it.
  
  Have a ceramic pan dedicated for sticky stuff that doesn't need to be cooked too hot. Ceramic that is not used on high heat lasts a long time. Obviously with wood of silicone utensils.
  
  Eggs are indeed tricky on the stainless. I have found that ceramic or a well-seasoned cast iron pan is a lot better for eggs if you aren't good at hitting that exact temperature that they need to be at to cook and release on their own with just a minimal amount of oil/butter. My parents have a single teflon pan that is just for eggs, but they cook eggs so frequently that they need to replace it all the time because it starts to peel and flake in no time flat.
  
  You might be cooking to hot, I use cast iron so I can’t speak directly about steel but low and slow is best for eggs on cast iron.
  
  Well-seasoned, smooth bottomed cast iron or carbon steel can be great egg pans. There's a learning curve but IMO the maintenance isn't as daunting as many think.
  I've got a de Buyer carbon steel pan that we use for eggs most mornings; it doesn't perform identically to a Teflon pan but it's still very very good. Maintenance is just (1) a drop of oil before the food goes in, (2) quick wipe under the faucet with a dish brush, and (3) dry with a dish cloth before putting away. I've had the pan for almost 10 years now and there's no reason it shouldn't last the rest of my life (and then some).
  
  Just use cast iron at that point. Season it well enough and it'll be smoother than any nonstick you can buy
  
  Unless you drench the pan in oil.
  Nah, you can develop technique to prevent this. What's great is on stainless you can use a stainless turner as well. When it comes to eggs it's all about adding enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan and then keeping the egg moving after the initial side is cooked enough to release.
  Omelettes are the same on stainless. You just have to keep things moving. It requires a little more technique and attention but IMO that's better than having a side of Teflon flakes with breakfast.
- I would rather deal with the (often exaggerated) care of a cast iron pan than deal with non-stick Teflon or similar. And have. But stainless steel is a comfortable favorite for common jobs like cooking soup or quickly frying an egg or two. Light, easy to clean, and practice usually means it won't stick if you know how to grease a pan and keep the temperature right.

I stopped using non stick pots/pans completely. PFOS or whatever other fucked up, deadly, untested chemicals can get out of my life forever. We may think they're safe but do we really know? "They" told us the original teflon was safe and look at how that turned out.
I now have an induction range and only use cast iron and stainless steel. Yes, I sometimes have to scrub or soak my pans but I believe me and mine will live longer and healthier.
Cast iron does make better tasting food, IMHO. Takes some getting used to and more work to clean but I think it's worth it.
- Getting rid of Teflon around here too.
  I like the process of maintaining cast-iron pans. And they get better theore I use them. Definately better than the constant deterioration of the Teflon ones.
  Enamel coated steel is ok. Just steel is ok too.
  But I really like the cast iron ones.
  
  I have bare and enameled cast iron and bare stainless steel. I have not heard of enamel coated steel. I need to research that.
- "They" is frequently used as an antisemitic dog whistle fyi
  
  There is literally nothing in the post indicating any religion. I interpreted "they" in this case as industry leaders/the FDA
  
  Wat
  
  My guy, "they" is just a pronoun. Not everything can be a dog whistle.
  
  Fuck off Israel propoganda bot.

Don’t heat a non-stick on high, like ever. Medium is as high as they can take.
Use silicon utensils.
We had issues until we stopped doing #1. The cheap non-stick Tfals we have now have lasted 10+ years. The old expensive ones didn’t make it past the first few.
- *silicone. You wouldn't want silicon utensils.
  
  lol. Fair correction.

Replace ‘em. Get either cast iron or stainless steel, once both are seasoned properly they are just as non-stick as teflon pans and much more durable. Lodge cast iron pans are like $20 and are super easy to take care of if you cook frequently.
- I don’t think stainless steal seasons. Maybe you’re thinking of carbon steel?
  Stainless is great to cook with but you have to wait for the pans to come to temp before adding food
- Nothing is nonstick like Teflon ... But the VAST majority of cooking doesn't require that level of nonstick, either.
  Unless you have a French omelette addiction, you probably don't need Teflon.

once you go cast iron you never go back
- Cast iron = brilliant and last forever
  Stainless steel = brilliant and last for ages
  Carbon steel = brilliant and last for ages (but expensive)
  Cooking on plastic doesn't feel right. Even if it's perfectly safe, I'm happy to stick with any of the above and not cause excess waste by having to throw out pans when they scratch.

why does it look like a very old whale who's battled hundreds of squids? Ever hear of wood or silicone utensils?

Chunks of teflon are getting in your food
The aluminium underneath, which was protected by the teflon, is getting into your food (especially true with acidic foods, since they will react with aluminium and erode it).
- I don’t know that the PTFE is going to be any worse than all the other micro plastic we’re eating*, but the aluminum definitely is a problem.
  Id suggest replacing it (or using the others until you can replace it,)
  Tomorrow might be a good time if you can afford it, with all the sales.
  *ain’t life grand?
  
  There was that town in the US where 3M dumped PTFE into the rivers and it made it into the drinking water, I watched a documentary where people in that town have a cancer rate 169 times the national average. IIRC
  PTFE is one of the greatest chemicals to ingest… if you want to grow some extra body parts.

No, it's not safe to keep using nonstick pans that are peeling, but people still use them anyway.
- I think it's safe in that the coating won't poison you. They should just pass through without harming you. But it's not a very pleasant idea, so I would get a new pan just for that.

There's a couple misconceptions in this thread.
Yes, Teflon can release some gasses if overheated, but it's not likely going to cause you any real harm. As long as you're turning on the range hood while you cook, it's basically a non-issue. Teflon really only releases fumes at very high temperatures (usually over 500F), and foods that are being cooked at that high heat aren't really going to be needing a non-stick coating to begin with, so you'd ideally want to use a different type of pan for foods cooked at very high heat in the first place.
If you really huff the fumes intentionally, you might give yourself a headache/fever (look up "Teflon flu" for more), but it's not likely gonna kill you. However, some pets may be more susceptible to Teflon fumes, particularly birds, who can very easily die from Teflon fumes, so be cautious if you have any animals in your home.
As for the aluminum underneath, that's also largely a non-issue. Aluminum is safe to cook with in most applications. It's even relatively safe to consume, and it's actually used in many common medicines (like aspirin and antacids) and also as a food additive in some cases. There's a reason why acidic foods like tomatoes and pineapples are canned in aluminum; because it's safe to do so. If a little aluminum from the can/pan leeches out into the food, it's not a big deal as it'll pass through you unnoticed. It's only really a concern if you already have issues with high amounts of metal consumption in your diet. Some people believe that aluminum can cause or accelerate certain conditions like Alzheimer's, however I believe those studies have been mostly inconclusive, last time I looked into it.
The bigger issue is that you risk getting chunks of the Teflon coating breaking off of the pan and getting into your food. While it'll pass through you mostly harmlessly, it's still not ideal. And it's just gross.
I'd recommend tossing that pan and getting a new one and only using it for low/medium-high temps, as well as picking up a stainless steel pan (assuming you don't have any metal allergies), and use that for things that need more heat to cook.
Also, be gentler with your pans, in general. It looks like you've been sticking a fork or some other metal utensil in there, which is a bad idea. If you're using a metal spatula or something, stop that; just use plastic/rubber/wood on your non-stick items. If you're hand-washing it, just use a sponge or a soft brush, but don't use anything abrasive like steel wool or those sponges with the "hard" side for grease and grime, as those can also rapidly degrade the Teflon coating.
- Huh, I always thought pineapples and tomatoes were canned in non-aluminium tins that also have a coating on the inside to prevent corrosion. Them tins don't really feel as soft as a beer or soda can.
- Something you should be aware of: Many, many range hoods, particularly in cheap housing like apartments, do NOT ventilate outside. They move the steam/smoke/etc away from the cooktop, but just blow it back into the kitchen. In some cases, right into the face of whoever is standing in front of the stove.
- Someone who tells you Teflon is fine should absolutely not be believed. Doesn't matter if their wall of text might sound convincing
  
  Except no-one has produced a convincing source showing there’s a problem. I’m quote willing to change my mind, but not on the basis of “because”
- There’s a reason why acidic foods like tomatoes and pineapples are canned in aluminum; because it’s safe to do so.
  No, it's because the inside of the cans are coated with plastic (which contained BPA until recently, but that's a whole 'nother issue...).
- OP, please don't trust this one's comments. See following document, sections 6 and 7.
  PTFE (teflon) is toxic. As soon as your pan is damaged you should throw it out.
  Source : https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c03244
  
  That doesn't say it's unsafe to cook with. PFAS, in industrial use, are hella dangerous. But not all PFAS are the same, and Teflon is specifically treated to be food-safe under normal cooking temperatures.
  
  So I've just read that paper and it's very interesting. The vast bulk of it is about the danger of polymer processing aid used during the manufacturer of teflon and how they could leach during manufacture, use and product disposal.
  The manufacture and disposal phases encompass environment pollution - important, but not relevant to safety during cooking.
  The in-use section of the paper is largely about concentrations used in cosmetics (who knew?) and the potential affects.
  What about cooking? There is one line that I could find in the paper - I may have missed something, of course. It says this:
  "Fluoropolymer-coated food contact materials (e.g., metal cookware), if not properly pretreated, could lead to the leaching of nonpolymeric PFAS residuals into food during the use phase."
  So - if not properly pretreated (I don't think the paper expands on what this means), it could lead to leaching. But the paper has nothing to say about whether this leaching occurs with everyday cookware and if so, if it happens at concentrations that could be harmful.
  So I'm going to suggest that this paper does not present any evidence that non-stick pans are harmful to health during cooking.

Teflon is very bad for you don't do it.

ATK just did a short video on this. It's probably not as detailed as you might want but here you go. I believe Teflon is used because it is so innocuous, but the chemicals used underneath to make it stick are very bad for you. https://youtu.be/2RJkIPT-jLs?si=w0X3lpQK9tnaMmbA

Depends, do you think eating lead is safe?

Hell no. Lead and PFAS.

I have no idea.
This says the PTFE passes through undigested but who knows:
https://essentialware.com/teflon-and-pfoa-all-your-questions-answered/
- Call me a cynic, but I'd not really take health advice from them, let alone on something they want to sell people.
- Undigested doesn’t mean it doesn’t leach anything nasty or cause problems (particularly over long periods of time.)
  Some almost certainly doesn’t fully pass.
  
  When they've studied this I don't think they've seen results showing that it leaches something. Doesn't mean we couldn't find out that it does, but as per our current understanding it seems scientifically speaking to be nasty but not dangerous.

Even bran new nonstick pans are horrible ideas. Don't use them. Get cast iron.
- Everything I heard about cast iron pans was either "This is the hot shit!!" or "They are horrible to maintain and you can't keep food in them overnight because it destroys the patina you built for weeks".
  Since I am lazy as fuck I'll pass...
  
  I'm also pretty lazy, but they are a lot less difficult to maintain than most people say. They can take a lot of abuse, and it's fine to use soap and water on them, including rough sponges. In fact, some companies sell a kind of chain mail you can use to rough up the surface more since it actually helps.
  I've left food in them overnight many times. The only times it's hurt the seasoning is if it's been acidic, like a tomato sauce. But then I just wash it off the next day and oil it again and it's totally fine, and will build up seasoning naturally with more use.
  The only really bad thing you can do is get it wet and forget to dry it. Rust is bad. But then, all that means it you'll need to remove the rust as best you can and reseason. It isn't ruined, and you can fix it. Just better and easier to dry it off well.

Allclad has factory seconds sales like 4 times a year, I think there’s one going one right now. If you’re unfamiliar, they’re a premium brand for high end home stores so they’re bar for quality is very high, because of this they can’t sell any products that have minor cosmetic defects or even damaged packaging. So, these factory seconds are sold for a huge mark down. Larger sets can still go for a lot more than a disposable nonstick you’d find in a grocery store, but they’re worth it. Alternatively, you can find them on Craigslist or marketplace pretty regularly for a steal, too.
Stainless clad pans are a little different to work with compared to nonstick but preheat the pan, cook with oil, and you’ll prefer it by miles to nonstick.
Edit: sales still going on, here’s a link. Happy cooking.
homeandcooksales.com

Throw that shit away ang get an All Clad everyday pan or Staub or something. There will be tons of sales and getting proper cooking equipment is worth the investment

From what I understand, that is unsafe. Having said that i've been using one in a worse condition too. Best to limit the use of non stick pans anyways unless its for eggs or smth delicate pl us careful with the wash

No. Read this: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/ed118fbc-518c-417b-9580-f6ed12aac069?s=m

Dump all of your non stick and get cast iron

165 comments