How safe is Teflon coating?

For people who grew up in the post-Soviet space, the word "Teflon" was akin to the magic: Teflon coating was a symbol of a new, unusual, unattainable and extremely convenient in all spheres of life. And today every housewife has a Teflon frying pan and cooks it with pleasure. But what do we know about this cover? Can I use it without harming my health? Let's try to understand.

What is Teflon?

To understand whether Teflon coating is harmful or not, it is necessary to return to the moment of invention and popularization of this product.

The authors of Teflon or polyetetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are the developers of DuPont. As is often the case with major discoveries, the scientists did this quite by accident: the goal of laboratory research was the improvement of refrigeration equipment.

The truly revolutionary properties that Teflon coating possesses have allowed it to be used in a wide variety of spheres of life and everyday life, and studies have shown that Teflon is safe, at least when heated to no more than 220 degrees. This allowed us to maximize the use of Teflon.

Where do we find Teflon?

This type of coating is similar in properties to plastic and has very high sliding properties. This is why Teflon coating is the most widely used in the manufacture of non-stick cookware of various modifications. Mistresses around the world were delighted with the novelty: with a minimum of oil can get a perfectly fried product, and the damage of Teflon coating was considered a fiction of competitors.

The second most popular is the application of Teflon on the sole of the iron: it allows you to iron clothes with minimal effort and reduce the chance of sticking and spoiling clothes with high temperature.

Also Teflon is widely used in the manufacture of packaging for semi-finished products, disposable dishes, various polishes, most often for cars and even in cosmetics.

Teflon on the car?

Recently, the Teflon coating for the body of the car has become increasingly popular. This service is rendered in car-care centers, and it consists in the manual application of specialized polish with Teflon on the entire body of the car. The procedure is rather lengthy and laborious: it is necessary to entrust the machine only to a professional, because the quality of the work will depend on the functionality of the coating itself.

Teflon coating of the car allows you to avoid small scratches and chips, the body does not remain traces of drops of rain and small splashes, and the car always looks as soon as polished on a professional sink.

The first suspicions

The first bells about the potential risk of Teflon sounded when Americans tied the use of fried potatoes and the risk of disease with oncological diseases. Initially, it was associated only with carcinogens, which stand out when frying food. But when diseases with similar diagnoses took on a mass character among the employees of DuPont, which produced Teflon in different variations, the damage to Teflon coating became obvious.

Since 2001, the company has been continuously sued, the subject of the lawsuits is not only the potential danger of products for consumers, but also excessive pollution of the environment with carcinogenic and toxic substances.

Research on harmfulness

To answer the question of whether Teflon coating is harmful or not, the researchers were again to come. This time, a more detailed study of the issue by unbiased laboratories confirmed that when heated above 200 degrees, Teflon releases toxic and carcinogenic substances. They fall not only in products that are directly in contact with the coating, but also are released into the air.

It turns out that just by frying potatoes on a Teflon frying pan, a person receives a significant dose of toxic substances. Studies have also shown that couples when heating Teflon are a deadly threat to birds: if the kitchen has a domestic feathered darling, the Teflon frying pan there is definitely not the place.

Scientists have proved that the use of teflon for domestic purposes, especially for cooking, provokes problems with the hormonal background and the functioning of the thyroid gland, promotes the development of tumor processes, including malignant ones, and also leads to fetal malformations in pregnant women.

On the basis of all this, products containing Teflon are banned in the US and other countries.

Safety regulations

Can I use Teflon coating? Reviews around the world talk about the convenience and durability of such products. Our answer: it is better to listen to the opinion of experts and not to use Teflon-containing products, especially for cooking. It is better to give preference to cast-iron dishes or made of stainless steel.

But if you want to buy non-stick cooking utensils, you should remember a few simple rules for its operation:

• Teflon coating has a shelf life: even in the absence of external damage, use such a dish can be no more than two years;
• When chips and cracks appear on the Teflon coating, it is necessary to stop preparing food in such a crockery: poisonous substances are actively released through cracks under the influence of temperature;
• It is not necessary to prepare food on the Teflon pan for babies, it is better to do it in environmentally friendly dishes.

Be attentive to everything that surrounds you: from such trifles as a frying pan or iron, our daily life consists. And contact with poisonous substances, even in small quantities, will inevitably lead to a deterioration in health. Appreciate your health and your family - use organic products and environmentally friendly dishes.