Dr Ben Goldacre, author of the riveting Bad Science, has printed T-shirts saying: “I think you’ll find it’s a bit more complicated than that.” I plan to buy one at www.badscience.net and make it the uniform of the Green Kitchen, where no subject, as I say regularly, is ever quite as simple as it looks.

The issue of PTFE supports Dr Goldacre’s maxim. A couple of years ago, there were reports that PTFE, properly called polytetrafluoroethylene and better known by trademark names such as Teflon, emits toxic gasses when overheated. Nonstick cookware manufacturers tell us not to heat an empty pan, and to use a moderate heat.

But the definition of overheating is around 260C. Bacon starts sizzling around 135C. An uncoated frying pan heated at full blast for two minutes reaches around 200C (I know this from using my Raytek Mini Temp Non-Contact Thermometer Gun). In short, you have to misuse your nonstick pan very seriously before it emits those gasses. So the pans are safe, right?

I think you’ll find it’s a bit more complicated than that. In normal use, the pans themselves are safe. But there are reasons to worry about how they’re made; in particular, about PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), used in the manufacture of PTFE. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA classifies PFOA as a “likely carcinogen”. An agreement has been reached to cease production by 2015.

Not everyone agrees with the EPA’s stance, and I am unqualified to judge its scientific merits. But I err on the side of caution. I will continue to use what I’ve got; that risk is acceptable to me. However, I won’t buy PTFE products for the time being. The risk of releasing “likely carcinogens” is not acceptable.

In the meantime, a new form of nonstick cookware has cometo my attention. Next week, I will sing its praises.

greenkitchen@thetimes.co.uk

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