On Wednesday, the US Environmental Protection Agency launched a new volunatary program to reduce emissions of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid or “C8”), a synthetic chemical used in the production of DuPont's Teflon and similar non-stick materials.  This initiative was a response to new findings that showed that PFOA is persistent in the environment and has been found in low-levels in the blood of the general US population.   While PFOA has not been shown to be dangerous in humans, it has caused developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals.  Importantly, the release of PFOA into the environment is believed to occur predominantly in the manufacturing process rather than through everyday use of non-stick materials.  In April 2005, a paper in Analyst, a peer-reviewed journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, showed that there was no detectable release of PFOA when commercial non-stick cookware was subjected to “normal” cooking temperatures of 125 degrees C -- this was the maximum temperature of the ethanol/water mixture that the researchers used for their experiment.  Canola oil smokes at 240 deg C.

While Teflon is considered to be very safe, and has been used commercially since 1946, the EPA’s announcement has generated new debate about the concern about the safety of Teflon use in non-stick cookware.  One documented phenomenon is polymer fume fever in which overheating of Teflon materials can release substances leading to a self-limited flu-like illness. Fortunately, this only occurs when Teflon is heated to temperatures greater than 350 degrees celcius (~660 degrees F).  Most cooking is done at temperatures well below this value, although high-powered cooktops can heat cookware to these high levels.

There is currently no recommendation from the EPA to alter the sale or use of Teflon non-stick cookware.

If nothing sticks to Teflon, how do they get the Teflon to stick on the pan? 

The answer to this often asked question really isn’t that exciting: You can replace the fluorine atoms on one side of the Teflon surface with other atoms to make it sticky.

Alternatives to Teflon

The real excitement in cookware is found in alternatives to non-stick cookware.  Although Teflon, and fluoropolymer variants including Silverstone and Dupont Autograph, are the most well known non-stick surfaces, there are several competing technologies in use.  Most of these technologies are “stickier” than Teflon, but have substantially increased durability.  They offer an improvement to traditional uncoated stainless steel pans and are more traditionally marketed as “stick resistant” surfaces.

One of the original alternatives was the ceramic-titanium composite produced by SCANPAN Denmark in 1987.  The ceramic-titanium composite is heated to ~20,000 degrees Celsius (~ 36,000 degrees F!) causing it to turn into plasma.  The plasma is fired into the pressure-cast raw pan at twice the speed of sound bonding it to the pan’s surface.  This creates a smooth non-porous surface that helps it become stick resistant.  Infused anodized aluminum, made popular by the Calphalon One line, also works using this principle.

The “Cybernox” line of cookware from, French manufacturer Sitram, offers stick resistance using a quasicrystal surface.  First discovered in 1984, quasicrystals have five-fold symmetry meaning that they’re aperiodic lattices with icosahedral or decagonal symmetry.  This even confuses the researchers who discovered it.  In short though, five-fold symmetry is an oddity of nature because crystals were thought to only have 3, 4, 6, or 8 facets.  Since nothing else in nature has five-fold symmetry, nothing in nature should have any affinity to the surface and hence it should be stick resistant.  Quasicrystals are very hard and durable and also produce a beautiful mirror finish qualities desireable in cookware.

The problem is that all non-stick coatings, including Teflon and quasi-crystal, alter the thermal properties of the surface.  For example, it is impossible to brown food on Teflon surfaces.  As a result, most professional chefs do not use non-stick or stick-resistant cookware.  Instead they will use the optimal material for the specific item they are making depending on their desired combination of reactivity and thermal properties such as a enameled cast iron for slow, low-temperature cooking or a stainless steel saucier with a copper base when precise temperature control is needed.