From their website: “While Calphalon cookware features polytetrafluoroethylene-based nonstick finishes, we are not associated with, nor do we use, Teflon® branded products.” But I also found this elsewhere: “PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) is a polymer used to make coatings of kitchen utensils non-stick. It is more commonly known as Teflon™”. Teflon was patented in 1941(so that patent would have expired) although they have more recently removed PFOA (which is considered dangerous) so likely they have a patent for the new configuration. As a result Calphalon’s configuration of PTFE plus other stuff is likely slightly different than Teflon’s PTFE plus other stuff.
Also apparently “PTFE is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS” BUT is different than several other non-stick finishes in the PFAS family. (I didn’t bother to read how).
So Calphalon isn’t Teflon (so as not to be a patent violation) but it is another chemical in the PFAS “family”. Apparently, as long as you don’t heat it to 500 degrees it is reasonably safe. At 500 degrees it breaks down into a more dangerous short chain chemical. Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway are working to ban PTFE (and others in the PFAS family).
Looks to me Calphalon is using weasel words try to side step the safety issues of PFAS’s. And as long as you don’t let it get to 500 degrees it is stable because it is long chain. When heat causes it to break down into short chain it is dangerous. As both gas and electric stove tops can exceed that temperature by a fair bit (eg more than double and can be more than triple).
@Kidsandliz From various sources, the word is that while the finished product is far safer than the raw material, since it has been converted into a monolithic coating that is stable if handled as directed, the manufacturing processes that are involved may be far less so, producing the bulk of the environmental hazard that the feedstock substance poses when incorrectly handled or disposed of. Short version: Product mostly OK, but there’s a moderately to severely dirty process making and working with it. I have chosen not to support the PFAS industry, and I do not buy products which admit that they contain any substances from that family.
@werehatrack@voalady “handled as directed” though doesn’t solve the problem that it could well get over 500 degrees since both gas and electric burners are way hotter than that. Now in an oven likely they wouldn’t but on the stovetop they might. Not sure how you’d know you exceed that temp on the stove top since we normally don’t cook with a thermometer in the pan.
@Kidsandliz@voalady@werehatrack If your pet birds got sick, that means you got your Teflon too hot. If they died, that means you kept it too hot for too long.
Coal miners had an effective treatment for canaries that were suffering from low level carbon monoxide poisoning. The canaries needed supplemental oxygen for a few hours. Avian lung damage from the fluorine compounds released from hot Teflon is often permanent even when it isn’t bad enough to kill the bird outright.
The scientist who came up with the idea of using canaries to detect toxic gases, also invented the avian hyperbaric chamber. Coal miners liked their canaries too much to sacrifice them. The coal miners took them home at night.
@hamjudo@voalady@werehatrack If I had a pet bird to test for off gassing my cats would have a pet toy and then a dinner when my back was turned I am sure. Glad the they invented something to save the birds in the coal mines though.
@hamjudo@Kidsandliz@voalady@werehatrack of course we’re familiar with the commonplace canary idiom, but less known is the fascinating back story of John Scott Haldane and the fact the miners treated their avian testers as pets. Thanks @hamjudo for sharing the nerdom! That’s why I frequent the Meh-ster community, the knowledge gained! The good deals are just ancillary.
@daniellecha
Your best defense is to pay attention to your pan while heating it. You should almost never turn a Teflon pan higher than medium on a gas burner. The other option is to invest in a surface thermometer. They’re pretty inexpensive and actually very handy to have around the house anyway. They also make excellent laser pointers to entertain your cats!
From their website: “While Calphalon cookware features polytetrafluoroethylene-based nonstick finishes, we are not associated with, nor do we use, Teflon® branded products.” But I also found this elsewhere: “PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) is a polymer used to make coatings of kitchen utensils non-stick. It is more commonly known as Teflon™”. Teflon was patented in 1941(so that patent would have expired) although they have more recently removed PFOA (which is considered dangerous) so likely they have a patent for the new configuration. As a result Calphalon’s configuration of PTFE plus other stuff is likely slightly different than Teflon’s PTFE plus other stuff.
Also apparently “PTFE is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS” BUT is different than several other non-stick finishes in the PFAS family. (I didn’t bother to read how).
So Calphalon isn’t Teflon (so as not to be a patent violation) but it is another chemical in the PFAS “family”. Apparently, as long as you don’t heat it to 500 degrees it is reasonably safe. At 500 degrees it breaks down into a more dangerous short chain chemical. Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway are working to ban PTFE (and others in the PFAS family).
Looks to me Calphalon is using weasel words try to side step the safety issues of PFAS’s. And as long as you don’t let it get to 500 degrees it is stable because it is long chain. When heat causes it to break down into short chain it is dangerous. As both gas and electric stove tops can exceed that temperature by a fair bit (eg more than double and can be more than triple).
@Kidsandliz From various sources, the word is that while the finished product is far safer than the raw material, since it has been converted into a monolithic coating that is stable if handled as directed, the manufacturing processes that are involved may be far less so, producing the bulk of the environmental hazard that the feedstock substance poses when incorrectly handled or disposed of. Short version: Product mostly OK, but there’s a moderately to severely dirty process making and working with it. I have chosen not to support the PFAS industry, and I do not buy products which admit that they contain any substances from that family.
@voalady look above this message as that is also an answer but somehow you weren’t tagged in it.
@werehatrack @voalady “handled as directed” though doesn’t solve the problem that it could well get over 500 degrees since both gas and electric burners are way hotter than that. Now in an oven likely they wouldn’t but on the stovetop they might. Not sure how you’d know you exceed that temp on the stove top since we normally don’t cook with a thermometer in the pan.
@Kidsandliz @voalady @werehatrack If your pet birds got sick, that means you got your Teflon too hot. If they died, that means you kept it too hot for too long.
Coal miners had an effective treatment for canaries that were suffering from low level carbon monoxide poisoning. The canaries needed supplemental oxygen for a few hours. Avian lung damage from the fluorine compounds released from hot Teflon is often permanent even when it isn’t bad enough to kill the bird outright.
The scientist who came up with the idea of using canaries to detect toxic gases, also invented the avian hyperbaric chamber. Coal miners liked their canaries too much to sacrifice them. The coal miners took them home at night.
@hamjudo @voalady @werehatrack If I had a pet bird to test for off gassing my cats would have a pet toy and then a dinner when my back was turned I am sure. Glad the they invented something to save the birds in the coal mines though.
@hamjudo @Kidsandliz @voalady @werehatrack of course we’re familiar with the commonplace canary idiom, but less known is the fascinating back story of John Scott Haldane and the fact the miners treated their avian testers as pets. Thanks @hamjudo for sharing the nerdom! That’s why I frequent the Meh-ster community, the knowledge gained! The good deals are just ancillary.
@daniellecha
Your best defense is to pay attention to your pan while heating it. You should almost never turn a Teflon pan higher than medium on a gas burner. The other option is to invest in a surface thermometer. They’re pretty inexpensive and actually very handy to have around the house anyway. They also make excellent laser pointers to entertain your cats!