Heating Releases Cookware Chemicals

Science News ^ | 1-27-2007 | Janet Raloff

[Americanchild]

There have been numerous cases of pet birds dying suddenly when this stuff is used. Ever hear of about the canary in the coalmine?

[Eagle Eye]

Another of your unsubstantiated claims.

[yhwhsman]

Actually, the chemicals that are released are deadly to parrots and other birds

And, according to a nurse I know, it can make your whole house uninhabitable for a few days because of the smell. She once told me she forgot and left a non-stick pan on the burner for several hours, she had to go to the in-laws for several days before she could return home.

[Eagle Eye]

http://snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

[ryan71]

I stop using non-stick a long time ago. It's junk. I only use stainless, no aluminum.

[R. Scott]

[R. Scott]

Not only will our cookware kill us, but what we cook will kill us too.
Meat not cooked at the right temperature will cause cancer.
Veggies will kill us because of pesticides and herbicides.
“Organically grown” veggies will kill us with E coli.
Our water is contaminated with a variety of evil chemicals and will kill us.
The air we breath will kill us because of pollution.

[visualops]

microwave popcorn nauseates me because it smells rancid.

I agree microwave popcorn smells awful, and is tough, mealy, and tastes crappy. My husband loves popcorn and eats it almost every day. A few months ago I did some investigating and I now buy bulk white popcorn, coconut oil, and the commercial butter-flavor salt. I have a stainless-steel vented stovetop "churn" pan for popping. Not only do I save alot of money over the microwave popcorn, but we have light fluffy popcorn that smells and tastes delicious.

[Don W]

I use a hot-air popper and microwaved butter. Real butter, not margarine. A little garlic powder, seasoned salt, and I'm good for the show.

[-YYZ-]

What? Non-stick sprays ruin non-stick pans? Never heard of that. Of course, the only use I have for Pam is on the gas grill outside - creates impressive fireballs when sprayed on an operating gas grill!

[TChris]

Chemist Kurunthachalam Kannan and his New York State government team, based in Albany, performed the tests on four brands of nonstick fry pans and two brands of microwave popcorn. Their findings appear online and in an upcoming Environmental Science & Technology. (emphasis added)

Well this was clearly an exhaustive study. ...not!

[visualops]

Hot-air poppers are better than microwave but IMHO they harden the popped hull. Since we started popping the popcorn the way I described- nobody in the family wants any other kind.