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Has anyone a reference to an authoritative source (not junk science) that says Teflon is a danger to humans? Maybe I just haven't been paying attention but I thought the danger of Teflon was that it can emit PHOSGENE gas when heated to very high temps. If you put a Teflon coated pan on the stove top and turn the burner up you can emit Phosgene, a poison gas used in WW I. Below the temp where that reaction takes place I believe Teflon is extremely inert.

Any refs to credible scientific studies or published papers in refereed journals commonly accepted as "informed sources?" Examples would be JAMA, The Lancet, etc.

When looking in Google you get inundated in junk science on this topic. DANGEROUS POISONUS CHEMICALS ARE USED IN ITS MANUFACTURE!!!!! Salt is made out of two very dangerous chemicals, sodium and chlorine, both are virulent poisons but where are the scare stories regarding the salt on microwave popcorn?

At or above about 460F Teflon can break down and produce Phosgene gas a dangerous poison. If you don't have a good range hood with powered exhaust and can't remember to put food in a pan you have sitting on a burner turned up high then perhaps you should consider not having Teflon pans in your kitchen.

Water based foods (most are) will not let a pan get hot enough to even be a concern. It is difficult to get food heated to temps much above the boiling point of the water they contain. Now if you let a pan boil dry then of course the temp will go up and you could achieve temps above 460F (along with a lot of smoke and odor of burned food.) This would not be a "stealthy" process that you would be unaware of. You won't get a container of food heated above 460F and not know it, poisoning your self and others unwitingly. The food will be a scorched and hardened lump of inedible residue likely much worse that the worst hardened lump of scorched residue ever served to you under any circumstances (like eating charcoal brickettes.)

There are popcorn popping appliances that go inside of your microwave. They are moderately priced at Wal-Mart. They allow the use of flavorings and oils if desired which makes them more versitile than an air poppper whiich forbids the use of flavorings and oils in the popping chamber. I like popcorn from most poppers including a cast iron fry pan or dutch oven. It took a while to get used to the air popper since it didn't produce corn like momma used to make. I also like microwave popcorm and usually use the low fat type. I too disagree with the servings information on the bag or box. If we share a bag it contains precisely two servings. If we do not share it then it contains exactly one serving.

If after divesting yourself from the junk science sensationalist press and misguided web info and still are uneasy about Teflon or are afraid yoiu will scorch empty pans with no range hood then avoid it. If you avoid everything proclaimed to be BAD on the WWW I'd sure be interested in seeing a log of what you ate for a month.

Note, I am not promoting the use of Teflon in the kitchen. I don't have stock in Dupont. I do, however, tend to not be stampeded by the National Enquirer level of science reporting that has a bunch of uninformed bozos quoting each other similar to the INFORMED SOURCES that still report on the VALIDITY of crop circles.

Now if popcorn were properly genetically engineered to have a Teflon coating on the outer shell of the kernel then you wouldn't need Teflon pans!

Oh, and by the way Teflon is what makes the "miracle" fabric, GORETEX work. Avoid folks with Goretex parkas or boots as if they get overheated they may emit poisonous gas.

Pat

"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"

Edited by Pat (01/22/07 10:34 AM)

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