The Science is Clear:

Fluoropolymers Like PTFE Are Safe

Stop the Ban. Maintain Affordability. Support Families and Small Businesses.

California lawmakers must reject Senate Bill 682—a misguided proposal that would ban essential, safe, FDA-approved nonstick cookware made with the same compounds found in life-saving medical devices, such as pacemakers. This bill isn’t just out of step with science—it’s out of touch with the financial reality facing millions of Californians.

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Non-Stick Cookware Claims vs Facts

Global public health authorities consistently regard PTFE as inert, non-bioaccumulative, insoluble in water, and therefore safe for consumers. Further, PTFE is considered immobile in the environment. The Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) reinforces this distinction, noting that “…a stable, insoluble fluoropolymer such as PTFE may pose little environmental/ecological or health risk once it is in a product.”

Cooking with Confidence: The Safety of Non-Stick

Non-stick cookware has been a kitchen staple since the 1950s, making cooking easier, healthier, and more affordable. But in recent years, myths and misinformation about its safety have stirred up confusion, risking consumer confidence and cost savings for cooks at home and in restaurants.

1. Temperature

Measurable thermal degradation of PTFE occurs above 700⁰F, well above normal cooking temperatures. Cooking oils will release smoke and volatiles at much lower temperature.

Cooking Oils Degrade at Much Lower Temperatures than PTFE [Emissions of volatile aldehydes from heated cooking oils (2010)].

2. Human Health

PTFE Will Not Harm Humans and Should Not be Considered a Harmful PFAS Chemical [A critical review of the application of polymer of low concern and regulatory criteria to fluoropolymers (2018)].
No adverse health effects to be expected from cookware with PTFE non-stick coating [BfR, 2025].
Oregon State University Professor, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology: “While an individual consumer might not experience significant exposure [to harmful PFAS] from using their non-stick cookware…” [NPR AirTalk].

3. Microplastics

In the toxicity evaluation of single and four-week repeated oral administration of PTFE microplastics, no toxic changes were observed. [In Vivo Toxicity and Pharmacokinetics of Polytetrafluoroethylene Microplastics in ICR Mice (2022)].

4. Drinking Water

Global public health authorities consistently regard PTFE as inert, non-bioaccumulative, insoluble in water, and therefore safe for consumers. Further PTFE is not considered as mobile in the environment.

The Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) reinforces this distinction, noting that “[…] a stable, insoluble fluoropolymer such as PTFE may pose little environmental/ ecological or health risk once it is in a product.” PTFE will not leach or break down to non-polymeric forms during proper use.
California Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water — The Water Board has authority to order testing for PFAS. The most recent order was in 2024 prioritizes non-polymeric, small-molecule PFAS. The list of PFAS found during this testing is here, none of which are fluoropolymers. It requires samples collected to be analyzed by EPA Method 533, which covers 25 known analytes, none of which are fluoropolymers.
Delaware Law — § 8092. Definitions “PFAS” means non-polymeric perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are a group of man-made chemicals that contain at least 2 fully fluorinated carbon atoms, excluding gases and volatile liquids.
West Virginia Law — §22-11C-2. Definitions “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “PFAS” means non-polymeric perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances that contain at least two fully fluorinated carbon atoms, excluding gases and volatile liquids.
Health Canada — Risk management approach for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), excluding fluoropolymers.
EPA — EPA believes all uses of PFOA and its salts were phased out by December 31, 2013.

5. PTFE v PFOA

The definition of PFAS includes an estimated 14,000 molecules and compounds that significantly vary in their physiochemical properties and should not be regulated in the same manner. For example, PTFE and PFOA have different chemical structures and properties (see chart below). PTFE is a stable, inert, non-polar polymer mainly used for its chemical resistance and non-stick properties, while PFOA is a bioaccumulative, amphiphilic surfactant with environmental mobility concerns and has been phased-out due to its potential health risks.

6. Safety of PTFE

Governments, NGOs and regulators throughout the world have studied fluoropolymers/PTFE and concluded it is completely safe for coating non-stick cookware, as well as if it is accidentally ingested:
- 1979 World Health Organization
- 1987 International Agency for Research on Cancer
- 2011 European Union
- 2015, 2024, 2025 United States Food & Drug Administration
- 2016, 2020 European Food Safety Authority
- 2018 German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
- 2021 Emergency Care Research Institute
- 2023 Interstate Technology Regulatory Council
- 2023 United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive
- 2024 American Cancer Society

7. End of Life PTFE

United States
- In a guidance document regarding the destruction of PFAS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlights the specificity of fluoropolymers such as PTFE and their compatibility with landfills, including municipal landfills. [U.S.-EPA, “Interim Guidance on the Destruction and Disposal of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Materials Containing Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances” (April 2024)]
- In a 2024 report, the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council recognizes that fluoropolymers (including PTFE) are stable, insoluble and do not degrade and therefore have no impact on the environment. [Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, “Per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances” (Sept. 2023)]
- In this study, researchers from the University of Delaware indicate that while industry standards recommend a temperature of 850°C for municipal incinerators, incinerators in the United States typically operate above 1160°C. [University of Delaware, “Combustion operating conditions for municipal Waste-to-Energy facilities in the U.S.” (Aug. 2021)]
The Netherlands
- By confirming the stability and non-degradation temperatures of PTFE, the RIVM indicated that it will not degrade in the event of long-term burial. [National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, “Per- and polyfluorinated substances in waste incinerator flue gases” (Dec. 2021)]
Germany
- This study, focused on municipal incinerators to European standards (i.e. 850°C), underlines that these temperatures are satisfactory for the disposal of fluoropolymers. This is therefore also true for incinerators operating at higher temperatures, as in the United States. [“Mineralization of fluoropolymers from combustion in a pilot plant under representative European municipal and hazardous waste combustor conditions” (Oct. 2024)]
- Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) study confirms, via field tests, that the incineration of PTFE at 1100°C is a suitable solution for the treatment of waste containing it. “Waste incineration of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to evaluate potential formation of per- and Poly-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) in flue gas” (July 2019)

8. FDA

The FDA has authorized certain PFAS for food contact applications. Some PFAS are used in cookware. Studies show that this coating contains a negligible amount of PFAS capable of migrating to food.
Medical Devices and PFAS — Currently, no other materials exist that can perform the critical roles of fluoropolymers in these devices. Fluoropolymers are typically comprised of molecules that are too large to cross through cell membranes. Over 1,750 published and peer reviewed scientific articles. ECRI real-world surveillance network of clinics and health care providers through its Patient Safety Organization. The ECRI review found no conclusive evidence of patient health issues associated with PTFE as a material.

9. Other States

Minnesota Court Filing by Exponent (2025) — In the context of nonstick cookware and bakeware, FDA has approved the use of specific fluoropolymer PFAS as nonstick coatings because the agency has evaluated and determined that these fluoropolymers are large, immobile molecules that are not expected to be absorbed by the human digestive tract and contain only negligible levels of small molecule PFAS that could migrate into food.

10. National Advertising Division Decisions

CSA v. Caraway (2025) — NAD concluded that the Advertiser did not meet its burden of providing a reasonable basis for claims that competing nonstick cookware is toxic.
Thermolon v. Greenpan (2012) — US Consumer Product Safety Commission noted that the petitioner, the Environmental Working Group, had “not established whether humans will experience adverse health effects when Teflon or other coated cookware is used at normal cooking temperatures” or that toxic chemicals “are released in amounts during a consumer’s use of a product that would cause human illness or injury.”