What's Cooking 2021 Update

Still Cooking: An Update on Toxic PFAS in Cookware Products

Following the release of our 2020 report, “What’s Cooking? PFAS and Other Chemical Hazards in Nonstick Cooking and Baking Pans,” many people asked about the nonstick GreenPan, a favorite of celebrity chef Bobby Flay and of many home cooks. To answer their questions, the Ecology Center’s Healthy Stuff Lab tested the coatings of four pans made by: Bella Basics, GreenPan, Scanpan, and Zwilling. All four pans carried claims such as PFOA-free and PFAS-free.

We found two pans, Scanpan and Zwilling brands, were coated with PTFE, even though they both claimed to be PFOA-free. Our testing results from GreenPan and Bella Basics, however, were consistent with the products’ marketing claims of PFAS- and PTFE-free, respectively. Both the GreenPan and the Bella Basics pans were coated with a silicon dioxide-based ceramic.

In both 2020 and 2021 we found some product claims to be misleading; possibly causing consumers to purchase a PFAS-coated pan when they think they’re buying an alternative.