Frequently Asked Questions
Who do you represent?
We represent a brand new alliance called the Cookware Sustainability Alliance. We are two companies in the cookware space – Groupe SEB and Meyer Corporation – who have partnered because we believe strongly that science-based information is needed about the safety of cookware products.
Who should care about this?
Consumers, retailers, and policymakers so that all can make informed decisions.
What is happening that leads you to believe this information is lacking?
Laws are being passed or contemplated in multiple states to ban products with PFAS. However these proposed laws usually include broad grouping of PFAS, and we believe that the use of such a broad definition could needlessly impose new requirements on products and technologies deemed safe and environmentally beneficial.
Is non-stick cookware safe?
Yes, it is. Non-stick cookware contains a specific subfamily of PFAS called fluoropolymers. The fluoropolymers used by our industry, primarily polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), do not have the same characteristics of non-polymeric PFAS of concern, which should be the focus of environmental and public health policy. Fluoropolymers are extremely large and stable compounds. Today, fluoropolymers used in cookware that come into contact with food are not a concern for human health or the environment.
Why is non-stick cookware safe?
Yes. PTFEs have a decades-long history of safe and essential use, including in the healthcare industry where fluoropolymer coatings are used on medical implantation devices such as pacemakers and catheters. PTFEs are not water-soluble and potential exposure through drinking water is not a concern. Fluoropolymers like PTFE are highly stable and are not shown to degrade under normal conditions of use into their monomeric component chemicals. PTFEs are no longer manufactured with fluorosurfactants like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is a primary PFAS of concern.
Have any government regulatory bodies supported your position?
Yes. Since the 1960’s, federal regulations (21 CFR 175.300) have authorized specific types of PFAS substances for use in food contact applications. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that PTFE cookware is safe to use due to the “highly polymerized coating bound to the surface of the cookware and studies showing negligible amounts of PFAS in this coating migrating to food, and that polymerized or large molecule PFAS are not absorbed by the human body when ingested.” (updated 2/2024).
In addition, in 2016 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found that PTFE, due to its molecular size, will not likely be absorbed through the gastrointestinal barrier, and therefore concludes it does not present a health hazard.
What are the other points you would say about fluoropolymers to legislators and regulators?
Several points support this. Fluoropolymers:
Do not bioaccumulate, according to available empirical data.
Have not been shown to be toxic to humans.
Are not environmentally mobile
From food contact applications are unlikely to result in significant environmental emissions during the end-of-life phase
What about your manufacturing processes?
It is important to acknowledge that since the mid-20th century, PTFE has played a vital role in the technological advancements of many industrial and consumer products. Moreover, over the past several years, PTFE manufacturers have implemented significant changes to their manufacturing processes. Technologies now exist and are implemented to manufacture PTFE without the use of fluorosurfactant processing aids.
What specifically would you ask lawmakers to do?
We believe the definitions need to be sharpened so that only non-polymeric fluorine-containing substances are regulated under any new PFAS laws or regulations. This would ensure PTFE is not swept under this overly broad regulation.