Opt for Safer Kitchenware
In Week 6 of our Detox Your Kitchen Challenge, we have advice for avoiding plastic and other concerning chemicals in pots, pans, and kitchen utensils
Consumer Reports has partnered with The Guardian US to create this seven-week Detox Your Kitchen Challenge.
Many years ago, after learning that my nonstick pans were lined with Teflon or other toxic PFAS, I took my first step toward detoxing my kitchen. I swapped them out for some bright, enameled cast-iron cookware, a switch that felt like a simple but significant measure that would protect my health, and I was proud of myself.
A few years later, I came across some dismaying testing that found lead, cadmium, and arsenic in this type of cookware and other ceramics I regularly used to prepare meals. My trade-off is representative of the challenges in avoiding the rather confounding level of toxic chemicals in many types of kitchenware.
Why Is Kitchenware Toxic?
Regulations around toxic chemicals in the kitchen and food are sparse and loophole-ridden, while regulators often fail to adequately respond to new threats. These regulatory gaps mean that some companies could mislead consumers about their use of toxic substances, while others may unwittingly add them.
Though the responsibility shouldn’t fall on them, a whole ecosystem of bloggers, academics, attorneys, and nonprofits like Consumers Reports help fill the gaps by testing products for a range of chemicals, like lead or PFAS. They’re a great source of information.
Three Rules of Thumb
1. Kitchenware makers seem to love to use plastic, but the material can contain any of thousands of toxic chemicals and shed dangerous microplastics, especially if they come into contact with hot food or drinks. With a little effort you can usually find safer products made of most woods, stainless steel, or glass (as long as it isn’t crystal, colored, or decorative, which can contain lead).
2. Nonstick coatings are often made with PFAS or other toxic substances. Avoid them.
3. Ignore marketing words such as “eco,” “green,” or “nontoxic” that have no legal definition. Even “PFOA-free” and “lead free” may not mean what most consumers think. Buy products made of materials we know are safe instead of those that may be made from questionable materials that a marketing team claims are safe.
Check Out Other Installments in the Detox Your Kitchen Challenge
Week 1: Nix the Pesticides in Your Food. Week 2: How to Shop for Safer, Healthier Meat. Week 3: How to Lower Your Risk From the Chemicals in Seafood. Week 4: What You Can Do About Microplastics in Your Food. Week 5: Clean Up Your Tap Water. Week 7: Safer Ways to Clean Your Kitchen.
Pots, Pans, and Cookware Guidelines
Stainless steel is almost always a good bet—a SolidTeknics Noni skillet is my nontoxic stovetop workhorse. It’s made with high-quality ferritic stainless steel that’s low or free from nickel, a metal that can trigger allergies and is potentially toxic. My eight-quart HomiChef stock pot is made with a nickel-free stainless steel. Check out the top stainless steel frying pans in Consumer Reports’ tests.
Cast iron is also a great stovetop option, and I also use a Made In carbon steel pan. Glass pots and pans can work, though some—especially older models—may contain lead. Clear borosilicate glass is a safe option.
I strongly suggest staying away from nonstick pans because of the safety concerns. If you’re trying to avoid PFAS, you can’t rely on claims like PFOA-free or PFAS-free. These are two of thousands of PFAS compounds, all of which are risky. Claims like “PFOA-free” and “PTFE-free” don’t mean “PFAS-free." (One step that could reduce these claims: A California law that went into effect in 2023 bans companies from claiming in online sale listings that a cookware product is free of any one PFAS—like PFOA—if it contains any other PFAS, like PTFE. But companies can still make the claim, so look out for it.)
For those who are hesitant to give up the convenience of nonstick pans, there are plenty of good guides on how to prevent your food from sticking to other types of cookware. If you really want a nonstick pan, CR testing found ceramic nonstick coatings not to contain PFAS. But because ceramics can sometimes contain lead, I feel more comfortable using stainless steel, glass, or cast iron, which are more often nontoxic.
Lead in Coffee Mugs, Plates, and Other Ceramics
The Food and Drug Administration permits companies to use lead, arsenic, and other dangerous heavy metals (PDF) in things like coffee mugs, plates, slow cookers, or anything else ceramic in the kitchen as long as the piece isn’t leaching the substance into food at the time of manufacture.
However, if pieces aren’t glazed properly, or become scratched and chipped during use, then lead or other metals may get into your food. Though not all ceramics contain lead, you can’t tell by just looking at them. The Lead Safe Mama blog checks common kitchenware for lead and is an awesome resource for finding lead-free products. (It is run by a public health advocate who has successfully worked with CR in the past on issues like removing lead from toddler food.)
You can also switch to another material—for example, I use (clear borosilicate) glass coffee mugs.
Choosing Cutting Boards and Kitchen Utensils
Plastic cutting boards can shed microplastics into your food, and bamboo products may contain formaldehyde in their glue or resin. Instead, get a board made from a single piece of wood, like this one from Treeboard that I use. They’re a bit pricey, but they last a lifetime and won’t get anything hazardous in your food.
Plastic spatulas, tongs, ladles, and so on can leach toxic microplastics or chemicals like phthalates into your food, and black plastic is particularly terrible because it may also contain flame retardants. As with the cutting boards, I use utensils made from a single piece of hardwood and treated with a safe finish like beeswax or fractionated coconut oil. I also use stainless steel tongs and ladles.
You've Got Questions, We Have Answers
I like nonstick pans because I hate scrubbing. Maybe a little PFAS is worth the convenience?
It’s not. If I have to remove burnt food from my stainless steel pan, I simply boil a little water in it and scrape with a spatula while boiling. Baking soda and a little water is also often effective. For the bakers out there, you can spread parchment paper from the If You Care brand, which is PFAS-free, on stainless-steel baking sheets.
I drink coffee every day. What’s the best type of coffee maker to use?
Get one free of plastic, such as a Chemex or a French press like this one.
What about my leftovers?
Replace plastic containers with glass. Plastic baggies have been found to contain high levels of PFAS, and any number of plastic chemicals, while nonstick varieties of aluminum foil may contain PFAS. (This is not the case for regular varieties of aluminum foil.) At home, I use glass containers.
Goals for the Week
• Spend five minutes taking a quick kitchen plastic inventory. Pick a single item that is easy for you to replace, and order a nontoxic alternative. Start small and work your way up.
• Plan to replace another product or two at some point in the coming months.
• Take a look at some of the videos or guides that cover how to cook with stainless steel or other materials and how to clean them more easily.
