Scanpan and Teflon

Non stick cooking surfaces.

Does Scanpans cooking surface break down at high temperatures?

Overheating or cooking dry is generally defined in the nonstick cookware industry as exceeding 500 degrees, either with an empty pan or with food in the pan, which has been accidentally left on the stove. It happens more often than one might think. Some Reports, which tested exactly that aspect of cookware use. SCANPAN Classic was one of only two nonstick pans that survived an overheating test. The reason lies in specially formulated PTFE that works in conjunction with our patented ceramic titanium surface technology. Details are proprietary.

PTFE, PFOA ?

PTFE is the end product after applying, curing and otherwise processing the liquid product that is used to make nonstick coatings. In its liquid stage, the coating contains PFOA, which is salt that is keeps the coating material in suspension before it is ter technology used to filter it out at the point of production. It is safe to assume that at the time Teflon was introduced, filter technology was far behind what it is today.

Again, Dupont would have a better answer. We do not do business with them, nor do we rely on their press releases and statements. We have our own research and development team in Denmark to review this and other issues. SCANPAN Denmark has on official "GREEN" status with the Danish government since the factory emissions are consistently and significantly below the allowable levels. That includes PFOA. Since SCANPAN Ceramic Titanium was invented and patented only in 1986, we were, of course, able to use filter technology that was not necessarily available in 1950. These filter systems at our factory are constantly being upgraded as technology improves further.

PFOA is an issue with the EPA and potentially OSHA, not the FDA. The so called .Teflon flu. refers to symptoms that could appear or have appeared with workers in production plants, not with consumers, to the best of our knowledge.

There is no PFOA present in the finished SCANPAN Classic product.

Further ...

It has been widely known for years that human exposure to PFOA is very low under normal non-stick cookware use conditions. A just-released study report by a trusted third party, Consumer Reports, has again verified that the risk of non-stick pan use is very low, and getting lower. "Consumer Reports tested non-stick pans from various manufacturers to test the safety of new and used pans at heats of 204 C (400 F) and found that PFOA emissions were minimal. "The highest level was about 100 times lower than levels that animal studies suggest are of concern for ongoing exposure to PFOA," the magazine reports in its June issue. "With the aged pans, emissions were barely measurable." Health Canada has said that non-stick coatings are safe to use at temperatures under 350 C (662 F). But, the federal agency said that with higher heats, irritating or poisonous fumes may be released." Points to think about: If you cook at temperatures over 500 F, normal cooking greases and oils are at, or likely to soon reach, the "flash point." Hence, you are creating a serious risk of a grease fire and also are denaturing foods and greases, and thus emitting smoke and vapors that are likely hazardous to your and your pet's health, regardless of what type of pan you are using! PFOA-like chemicals are added at very low concentrations to powdered fluoro-polymers to help the non-stick polymer powders adhere, in an even layer, to recently stamped, cast, or spun pans, prior to "baking on" the non-stick polymer finish. During this baking-on phase of cookware manufacture, the bulk of residual PFOA-like emulsifiers are driven off to a fume vent system from the high temperature manufacturing ovens. That is where vapor controls are needed to reduce occupational exposure. The widespread bio-accumulation of PFOA and PFOA-like materials in multiple warm blooded species around the world is unlikely to be significantly attributable to cookware. Not all societies even have access to non-stick cookware! We must look to other PFOA like material end uses to determine where the significant animal exposures are coming from. It's time to stop the cookware/PFOA exposure myth spreading, and focus on the real exposure risks.