The belief is widespread that the teflon coating of pans is extremely dangerous. Some even think that it is better to immediately throw the dishes with barely appeared scratches, otherwise harmful substances that can cause cancer will enter the body. We decided to check if this is really so.
The media reports the dangers of Teflon in catchy headlines: “Teflon pans were recognized deadly” (“5 TV"), "Miner fars" (""NTV"), "Cancer in a frying pan" ("New news"). ABOUT harm Teflon is written numerous Sites about Cooking And Healthy lifestyle. Skorodes with such a coating They are accused V raising cholesterol, destruction immune system, development thyroid pathologies, Cancer liver, kidneys and stomach. IN quality proof harm Teflona usually Mention home birds, which Very often Dying It is on kitchens During cooking.
Teflon is the commercial name of tetraftoroethylene polymers, a chemical substance consisting of carbon and fluorine. American chemist Roy Planquette Spended Industrial experiments and noted that under pressure, tetraftoroethylene is turning into white powder. The new substance interested the scientist, and he began to study his properties. It turned out that the connection is extremely Inert, that is, practically does not react with other substances. The idea of the use of polytetrafor -ethnicity in the production of kitchen utensils Came The French engineer Greguaru, French engineer 13 years after the opening of the substance.
Today, Teflon is used not only to cover pans, but also in many other industries. In particular, from it Produce Elements of facing, seals, a variety of hoses and pipes are used in the production of computers and electric cables, and are used in the military and aerospace sphere. Teflon's inertia makes it an important substance in the medical industry - from it Make it Vascular transplants, mesh for treatment with aneurysm, catheters, shunts and implants. With the help of Teflon tools, doctors even carry out Support in the uterus of the embryo during IVF.
Moreover, Teflon can use Inside, it is proposed to use additives with Teflon so that people suffering from obesity and have an overgrown stomach absorb some volume of this substance from food and previously feel saturation, without overeating. Scientists fed rats for 90 days, replacing 25% of their diet Teflon, as a result, animals lost weight, but did not demonstrate any side effects from eating this substance. Thus, even if the smallest particles of Teflon gets from the scratched pan to the body, this substance in no way Will not cause Many dangerous diseases.
At the same time, frying pans with anti-stick coating should be used according to the instructions, namely, not to leave for a long time on the included plate without any food on it. Teflon Starts decompose at a temperature of 360 ° C, while in just 8 minutes, an empty dishes with a Teflon coating heat up to 399 ° C on a fire. When this temperature is reached, a number of toxic gaseous compounds begin to be released from the Teflon coating. At the same time, how Joking Kyle Steenland, professor of environmental hygiene from the University of Emory in Atlanta (USA), "If you heat the Teflon to such a temperature that it will collapse, it will be the smallest of your problem, because your whole house will be in fire by that moment." Scientists They thinkthat the average life of the pans, which is regularly heated to 260 ° C (the temperature of the preparation of the steak) is a little less than two and a half years. If the dishes are used not only for frying, but also for extinguishing, that is, they are exposed to lower temperatures, then its period of use increases.
Inhaling the vapor of a goute Teflon can bring To a state under the name "fever of polymer smoke." In 2012, the case of a 29-year-old Japanese was described: before starting to cook, he put an empty Teflon pan on the fire, but in the end fell asleep for five hours. Waking up, he discovered that the room was filled with white smoke, grabbed the pan from the stove and put it under the running water in the sink to cool. Upon contact with water, steam went from the pan, the Japanese inhaled these couples. A few hours later, the man felt shortness of breath and called an ambulance. Doctors hospitalized him, made CT and found infiltrates in the lungs. At the same time, his condition was not critical, under the supervision of medical personnel, the Japanese was for only two days, and then was discharged home.
Another Japanese Passed The influence of gases formed during the overheating of the Teflon within ten hours (he also fell asleep, forgetting about the pan on the stove). His condition was heavier, he developed the edema of the lungs, but his doctors also saved. At the same time, lethal cases of inhalation of these gases are also described - however, poisoning did not occur in the kitchen, but in chemical production, where the concentration of substances was several times higher.
At the same time, parrots and other poultry They died Not at all because of Teflon. In 1975, scientists conducted an experiment on rats, Japanese quotes and parrots. Animals were kept in rooms in which plant and animal fats were heated in aluminum, steel and Teflon pots. Four hours in the kitchen, in which they cooked in cast -iron pans, were even more fatal for the parrots than the same time when cooking on the Teflon. For Japanese quails, cast -iron pans were also more dangerous, but the rats worst of all the Teflon. Scientists noted that animals killed not so much harmful substances from pans as smoke from plant and animal fats burning on them. That is, a parrot in the kitchen during cooking and in fact there is no place, but not because of Teflon, but because of the smoke from burning fats.
It is also worth noting that earlier in the production of Teflon Applied Really dangerous chemical compound - PFK (perforated acidic acid). Unlike Teflon, the PFC is more chemically active, therefore it can react, harming both humans and animals and the environment. According to research, the accumulation of PFCs in the body can lead to a number of adverse consequences: the function of the kidneys decreases and the level of uric acid rises, puberty is inhibited, the quality of sperm worsens, pregnant women, exposed to substances, had a greater risk of gestational diabetes, their placenta functioned worse, and the children had a lower weight in the children. Birth, growth slowed down and the risk of type I diabetes and pulmonary pathologies increased. In Europe and the USA, production, Using PFK, try limit. At the same time, the American oncological society Writesthat the carcinogenicity of the PFCs has not yet been proven and there is no reason to fear such anti -stick coatings.
Thus, modern frying pans with Teflon coating are completely safe for health. Even if from scratches on the surface, small particles of Teflon enter the body, then they will not cause him any harm. At the same time, the pans should be used in accordance with the recommendations in the instructions: in particular, do not leave empty dishes on the included stove for a long time.
