As you pull out pots and pans to cook Thanksgiving dinner this weekend, some culinary experts are warning Canadians about the dangers of a common and convenient tool they might turn to: nonstick cookware.
When she was just starting out in the industry and maintaining a food blog, Julia House spent hours researching the right tools to buy for her ever-growing kitchen, wanting to know which products would last and which ones were safe.
“The nature of nonstick pans is that there aren’t any on the market that last forever, period. Period. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest with you,” House said. “It’s a thin material, it’s a soft material.”
Nonstick pots and pans contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS. PFAS have always been called chemicals because they do not break down naturally.
They are not only found in non-stick cookware; PFAS are also used in cosmetics, takeout boxes, and medical devices… the list goes on.
They are called “permanent chemicals” or PFAS: synthetic chemicals used in a wide range of products such as food packaging, non-stick pans, stain-resistant fabrics, cosmetics, cleaning products and firefighting foams. They do not break down, can accumulate in wildlife and people, and pose health risks. Now they are showing up in Northern water systems.
According Health CanadaExposure to PFAS can affect the liver, immune, reproductive, and nervous systems, as well as the kidneys, thyroid, and metabolism.
They are so harmful that the California legislature passed a bill that would ban the sale of cookware made with PFAS. But, as The New York Times Some celebrity chefs have reportedly spoken out against the bill, particularly those who sell or endorse lines of cookware.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s deadline to sign the bill is quickly approaching: October 13.
As is sometimes youIn this case, how the British Columbia government decides to address PFAS may depend on what happens in California.
In a statement to CBC News, British Columbia’s Ministry of Attorney General said the province is looking at ways to address PFAS and closely watching what happens in other jurisdictions.
“We are determined to use all tools at our disposal, including legislation, regulation and litigation, to hold bad faith actors accountable for their actions,” the ministry said.
Alternatives
Both House, who now owns his own cookware store in Nanaimo, BC, and Camosun College culinary arts program chair David Lang agree that there are alternatives to nonstick pans that work for all lifestyles.
“We have some really good alternative options and it’s really just a cooking technique,” Lang said. “You can take a French steel skillet, a carbon steel skillet, a cast iron skillet or even a stainless steel skillet and make it nonstick. It’s just technique and taking the time to learn it.”
For example, Lang said carbon steel pans are easy to maintain.
“You can wash it. They say no, but you can. The important thing is to rinse it well and season it again.”
Even more important, Lang said, is to make sure you dry your steel pans so they don’t rust.
It’s also cheaper to buy one pan that lasts longer, rather than buying several lower-quality nonstick pans, the two say.
“A carbon steel skillet… is a skillet that will last a lifetime if treated correctly,” Lang said.
But House said you may already have a safer frying pan in your arsenal, it’s just a matter of learning how to use it correctly.
“You’re going to have to know your pan and your stove. Take about three or four days and you’ll be able to figure it out.”
According to Lang, it all comes down to technique.
“It’s very easy to make an omelet in a carbon steel skillet,” he said. “It’s just a matter of heating the pan, adding the fat or the medium you’re going to cook in and then adding the product and it’s as nonstick or more nonstick than a nonstick pan.”
