What’s that stuff lining your favorite nonstick pan? You probably know it by the brand name Teflon. Teflon is certainly easier to say than polytetrafluoroethylene, its scientific name. Like many long and complicated names, polytetrafluoroethylene was shortened to the acronym what is polytetrafluoroethylene. This fluorinated plastic coating was discovered by accident in 1938 by DuPont chemist Roy Plunkett. (DuPont still manufactures Teflon through Chemours, one of their subsidiaries.) Generations of cooks grew up loving Roy Plunkett’s accidental discovery. And still today, the majority of skillets and frying pans sold in the United States have a nonstick, polytetrafluoroethylene coating.
Why does a skillet coated with what is polytetrafluoroethylene prevent eggs and other food from sticking to the bottom of your pan? Polytetrafluoroethylene prefers to socialize only with itself. The unique properties of polytetrafluoroethylene keep food from sticking to nonstick cookware because it has an amazingly low coefficient of friction. That low friction means things like butter or oil aren’t needed to keep food from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The molecular structure of the nonstick coating bonds with the cookware, but not with the food you’re cooking.

Is Polytetrafluoroethylene Safe?
Recently, people have been concerned about their nonstick pots and pans. There were widespread reports that cookware coated with polytetrafluoroethylene might cause health problems, including cancer. Does this mean it’s time to throw out your favorite nonstick pan and forget about replacing it? polytetrafluoroethylene itself is not suspected of causing cancer, so says the American Cancer Society. That’s because polytetrafluoroethylene is inert. It will not react with other chemicals inside or outside of your body. However, the organization will not make the same statement about perfluorooctanoic acid. Perfluorooctanoic acid’s scientific name has been shortened to PFOA. PFOA is a chemical that was — until 2013 — used to make what is polytetrafluoroethylene. Studies in recent years have looked at the possibility of PFOA causing cancer and found it can increase the risk of certain tumors.

Stay Away From PFOA
Swearing off nonstick cookware won’t prevent you from being exposed to PFOA. It’s found in items ranging from medical catheters to fabric protectors. PFOA is so common that it showed up in blood tests in 98 percent of people in a study conducted in 1999. The good news is that PFOA is no longer used to make Teflon or polytetrafluoroethylene. The Environmental Protection Agency worked with DuPont and other chemical companies to stop using PFOA. It hasn’t been part of the Teflon manufacturing process since 2013.
To stay competitive, other manufacturers of nonstick cookware have also phased out the use of PFOA. But you still need to be careful when you pick out a nonstick pot or pan. Check to see that your nonstick cookware was manufactured without PFOA.