[culi]

Non-stick pans are fine if they are never heated above 500°F (260°C) and never scratched. In general, you probably shouldn't regularly use a nonstick pan for longer than 2 years.

If it is scratched or heated above what it says on the label, then yes it is absolutely toxic.

[galangalalgol]

Why is scratched a problem? They use the same stuff in medical implants. It is chemically inert if you don't overheat it right?

[culi]

A single scratch on a pan is enough to release thousands to millions of PTFE particles and microplastic particles. Scratched pans also significantly lowers the PFAS thermal stability which means even low temperatures can be overheating

And if the scratch is deep enough, you could also be exposing the underlying fluoropolymer coating which contains chemical binding glues which are definitely not foodsafe

Also modern replacements like GenX and PFOA are dangerous because they are not inert

[PakG1]

Isn't that the problem? From what I am googling right now, the maximum tempreature of my stove is absolutely above the threshold where it stops being chemically inert. If we were talking about some usage that didn't involve heating, then I guess maybe I'd hear out a usage for it, but even then, not sure the benefits are worth having something that can't degrade and yet can potentially get ingested by my body.

[ssl-3]

PTFE is very inert, but that doesn't mean that I want to eat more of it than I have to. And as a practical matter: Once it begins flaking off, more tends to follow. I don't know if that's because of oxidation of the aluminum, or what, but it sure seems to behave that way.

I mean, I'm not too awful worried about it compared to my adventures in 3D printing (with its crusty PTFE Bowden tubes).

But I very deliberately have just exactly one Teflon-coated pan in my house, and it only gets used for exactly one purpose: Making scrambled eggs with a rubber spatula. (I like my eggs scrambled sometimes, and I'm not pro-enough to make it work with cast iron or stainless cookware.)

[galangalalgol]

We got one of the greenpans for eggs after the last ptfe one chipped. It is ceramic glass coating of some sort. About halfway between ptfe and mirror stainless for sticking. Better than that if you keep the temp low. Kinda pricey though.

[ssl-3]

I've looked at those and they do seem nice.

This one was very cheap, at Aldi; if it dies, it dies. I try to avoid spending too much money on cookware because whenever I live with other people, the tendency is for them to find some way to absolutely destroy it.

And by that, I mean like: I don't even know what temperature it is that copper gets drippy-melty at, but they managed to exceed it.

[dotancohen]

I'd love to know more. I'm sure that I've scratched and overheated every pan I own.

[qmr]

... or just avoid the risk entirely.