Summer is right around the corner and that means picnics, barbecues and family gatherings. While we aim to ensure that the meals we’re cooking for our summer celebrations are healthy and nourishing, it might just be that the cookware used is actually making you and your loved ones sick.
That’s because many of the pots and pans in our kitchens are coated with polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, commonly known as Teflon. PTFE is a type of plastic made from dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Growing research suggests that many of the PFAS used to make non-stick coatings pose health risks. As a nurse, this concerns me, and it’s why I’m in support of getting these chemicals out of our cookware and other products, and ensuring safer alternatives are used.
PFAS are manmade chemicals used in non-stick cookware products to make them slippery and resistant to water and oil. All PFAS have earned the nickname “forever chemicals” because they can persist in the environment and body for a long time. While non-stick cookware manufacturers have moved away from using certain types of PFAS to make nonstick coatings for cookware, the chemicals they replaced them with are equally as bad. For example, the new chemical used to produce PTFE called “Gen X” can have health effects on the liver, kidneys, the immune system and the reproductive system, and is associated with cancer.
The cookware industry states that PTFE-coated cookware products are safe as long as they are not overheated or scraped. But who hasn’t burned food? Or scratched a pan while cooking or while cleaning? In fact, manufacturers recommend tossing out PTFE-coated cookware with even one scratch — but we all know that is rarely the case, especially when cookware can cost hundreds of dollars. Like plastic eventually breaking apart into microplastics, the PTFE coating of non-stick cookware can flake off with abrasion and form fluorinated microplastics that can contaminate your food.
If food contamination wasn’t enough, there is a danger that the chemicals “off gas” through overheating and contaminate the air. Chemours, the manufacturer of Teflon, has expressly warned consumers against allowing pet birds near where Teflon-coated cookware is being used because the fumes can sicken or kill them within seconds. This condition is called “Teflon Flu” because it mimics flu-like symptoms, and affects humans, too. The Washington Post recently reported that there were 267 cases of Teflon Flu in 2024. Think of how many more people likely experienced symptoms but didn’t connect them to overheating their pots or pans.
Minnesota, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Colorado have already taken the lead on protecting consumers by passing legislation to ban PFAS in cookware; and states like California, Illinois, New Jersey and Iowa are considering similar legislation. I am urging my colleagues in the Legislature to join me to protect New Yorkers and pass bill A07738/S00187A before the end of this legislative session in June. The bill also prohibits PFAS in other common household items, such as textiles, dental floss, household paint, children’s products, and cleaning products. Bill A01430, which I am proud to be sponsoring, adds to the consumer products bill by prohibiting the sale of medical adhesives and bandages from containing PFAS.
Several states have taken a stand against cookware industry misinformation, and New York should do the same. Last year, the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, formed by two of the world’s largest cookware manufacturers, aimed to block states’ efforts to ban PFAS in non-stick cookware. The American Chemistry Council and other trade groups are fighting against class-based regulation of PFAS chemicals, claiming PTFE is safe and should not be part of New York’s proposed consumer products law. However, this claim is not supported by independent peer reviewed research.
There are already several safe alternatives to PFAS in our cookware, like stainless steel, ceramic and cast iron pans. And several cookware manufacturers have created product lines that include PFAS-free options. PTFE is simply not necessary when safe alternatives to PFAS exist, and therefore this problematic chemical must be removed from our cookware. We cannot wait for manufacturers to take the initiative and need the Legislature to act. Time is running out this legislative session and the Legislature must pass A07738/S00187A as soon as possible.
New York State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest represents Assembly District 57. She is a member of the Assembly Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection and a nurse in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Yorkers must not tolerate the chemicals in our cookware. Albany can act | Opinion
Reporting by Phara Souffrant Forrest / NorthJersey.com
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