Some companies advertise so-called "nontoxic cookware" and "nontoxic nonstick cookware", with "new and improved" finishes, or coatings, or materials used. But are the ads truthful?
The Guardian published an investigation into the the matter. Uh-oh. They found evidence of toxic chemicals used (lead, mercury, titanium dioxide, etc.) by companies advertising their products as "nontoxic". Some of the cookware advertises itself as a nontoxic ceramic cookware, but it's actually "quasi-ceramic" and containing hidden ingredients (which the companies call proprietary ingredients).
Also, keep in mind that there are no actual regulations or legal definitions of what "nontoxic" or "ceramic" means. Some of the cookware contains lead, yet there are no federal limits for lead in ceramic cookware. The problems go on and on.
In other words, buyer beware. A safer alternative is to use traditional stainless steel, glass (e.g., Pyrex), and cast iron cookware
Excerpts from The Guardian: Toxic truth? The cookware craze redefining 'ceramic' and 'nontoxic'
The cookware industry has entered a golden age, largely driven by the wild success of a new generation of “nontoxic” and “nonstick” designer ceramic pans backed by stars including Selena Gomez, Stanley Tucci and Oprah Winfrey.
But the pans are probably not “nontoxic” some independent testing and research suggests. Nor are they even “ceramic” – at least not in the way the public broadly thinks of ceramics. Now, regulators are investigating some of the pan sellers’ claims.
On Instagram, TikTok and their marketing materials, the social media-savvy cookware brands promise “enchantment”, and “non-toxic materials and thoughtful design” that “prioritizes the health and safety of you and your family”.
In fact, no legal definition for “nontoxic” or “ceramic” exists, and the marketing has drawn greenwashing accusations exacerbated by the companies concealing their pans’ ingredients.
And the blockbuster sellers like Our Place’s Always Pan, Caraway and GreenPan are typically made with a material that thinly coats an aluminum substrate and is characterized in one study as “quasi-ceramic”. Meanwhile, independent testing and research suggests quasi-ceramics may contain toxins like titanium dioxide, siloxanes, lead and mercury.
The claims are eliciting regulatory scrutiny. The state of Washington recently ordered quasi-ceramic producers to submit their nonstick ingredients to the state’s ecology department as it attempts to learn which chemicals cookware companies are using to replace Teflon or other toxic PFAS, or “forever chemicals”. The order is about “transparency”, said Marissa Smith, a senior toxicologist with the Washington department of ecology.
The nonstick, quasi-ceramics have in part quickly blown up because, their producers claim, they cracked the “nontoxic/nonstick” code. Before 2019, nonstick pans largely used PFAS, a class of chemicals that contain among the most toxic man-made substances, and linked to cancer and a range of other serious health problems. The quasi-ceramic, design-forward pans with color palettes like “spice” and a millennial aesthetic burst on to a market ripe for an alternative.
Celebrity involvement also fueled the quick ascents: Selena Gomez, Tan France, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stanley Tucci and Drew Barrymore now have their own quasi-ceramic pan lines. Gigi Hadid and Kate Hudson promoted their Caraways in the media. Always Pan’s order backlog hit 30,000 early on. GreenPan made Oprah’s 2024 Favorite Things list, and Caraway’s profits grew over 500% between 2020 and 2023.
Throughout, the companies have relentlessly touted their products as “nontoxic”.
Ceramic cookware dates back at least 15,000 years. The concept evolved across cultures – the medieval British pipkin, the ancient Roman testum and the Wampanoag Native American decorated pots. Throughout the ages, the basic formula remained the same: some mix of clay, silica and minerals fired at a high heat to create a solid piece.
The new quasi-ceramics are something else. The producers use some variation of a process called “sol-gel” developed in the 1970s to create a material that is a mix of silica, metals and chemicals. The material is sprayed on to an aluminum substrate – the pan is not quasi-ceramic all the way through.
The companies won’t tell the public what else is in the pans, and their formulas are shielded by confidential business information laws, making it very difficult to verify their claims. The uncertainty alone raises suspicions among some public health advocates, but sleuthing of peer-reviewed research, legal documents, patents and regulatory documents around the pans raises more questions than answers, and points toward the use of toxic chemicals.
Still, Caraway states: “We believe in full transparency with regard to our products, so we’re happy to share testing reports with anyone via email to prove just how safe our products are.” In an email to the Guardian, it declined to share the formula: “The formulation of Caraway’s ceramic cooking surfaces is proprietary.”
The distinction is in part important because the surfaces can potentially melt at heat above 260C (500F), increasing the risk of chemicals leaching into food. The pans have also been reported to wear down and lose their nonstick coating sometimes within months of purchase. True ceramic can withstand much higher heat and is far more durable.
Other quasi-ceramic producers use a similar material, all of which include polymers. Polymers may mean any of tens of thousands of chemicals, including PFAS, which the sol-gel patent even details. Applying nonstick organic polymers may also create toxic monomer byproducts, Smith noted, but it’s impossible to know without having the pan makers’ ingredients. Nonstick can linings can create toxic bisphenol-A, for example.
A 2019 lawsuit alleged GreenPan’s “0% toxins” claim represented false advertising. Citing GreenPan’s patent, the suit alleged the pans contained silane, aluminum oxide, tetraethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxysilane, and potassium titanate. Regulators classify some of these as hazardous, but the suit was dismissed, though the settlement’s terms are unclear. GreenPan has denied using aluminum oxide. It did not respond to a request for comment.
Independent testing by the consumer protection site Lead Safe Mama detected high levels of titanium in GreenPan, Always Pan and Caraway, pointing to the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. A 2016 study also identified titanium dioxide in quasi-ceramic pans, and showed how it can migrate into food. The toxic substance is banned in the European Union for use in food, but not cookware. It’s a potential carcinogen that accumulates in organs and is linked to neurotoxicity, intestinal inflammation and other health impacts.
All told, there’s evidence that the pans could contain such ingredients as titanium dioxide, lead, mercury, cadmium, siloxanes, potentially toxic monomer byproducts and other unknown substances. Even if the levels of individual toxins are low, there’s no research into the health effects of all the toxins combined migrating into food, which raises a whole new set of questions.
Some of the pans also contain lead, testing Lead Safe Mama’s Tamara Rubin found. The lids and cooking surfaces of the Always Pan and Caraway showed some of the toxin, which she said suggests aluminum substrates and pieces are to blame.
Rubin also found mercury in the Caraway and antimony throughout GreenPan. Caraway still advertises “metals free”, and GreenPan states its products “lack harmful chemicals and toxins”.