Air fryers have surged in popularity over the last decade, with some 70% of US households either owning an air fryer or planning to buy one within the year. Air fryers offer a faster way to cook a wide range of foods with less oil. While avoiding excess cooking oil can be a boon for your health, most air fryers are manufactured with chemical nonstick baskets, which raises questions about the health risks of using them.
Quality Teflon and synthetic fluoropolymers are considered food-safe when used properly — namely, not heating above a certain temperature or damaging the surface and flaking it off into food — so there’s no need to hit the panic button. There are, however, best practices for using an air fryer or other chemical nonstick-coated cookware to avoid Teflon Flu and other health hazards.
So is your air fryer at risk of releasing toxic emissions that could cause Teflon Flu?
What is Teflon Flu?
Polymer fume fever or commonly known as “Teflon Flu,” is an illness that occurs when noxious fumes from a Teflon or chemically-treated nonstick pan are inhaled. These fumes are emitted when nonstick pans overheat or burn.
With normal use, nonstick coatings aren’t thought to cause a health risk, but when heated to above 500 F, there are increased emissions and the resulting polymer fume fever. Polymer fume fever causes a range of reported symptoms including fever, chills, muscle tension and headache. Symptoms of Teflon flu are temporary and generally start within 12 hours of exposure, but can take up to 24 hours to take hold.
Nonstick cookware is made with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). PTFEs are known as “forever chemicals” because they can take decades, or even hundreds of years, to break down.
Do air fryers still have Teflon coating?
The majority of air fryers in the market today have Teflon or nonstick-coated cooking baskets. They function similarly to nonstick cookware in that they release food easily and can be cleaned frequently with just hot, soapy water. As with Teflon and nonstick cookware, air fryer baskets will chip when exposed to hard metal cooking utensils or wire scrub brushes.
Air fryer manufacturers are moving away from nonstick baskets
A recent surge in air fryers with baskets made from 100% nontoxic materials has caught our attention. In fact, Ninja’s glass-bowl Crispi is our top pick out of dozens of air fryers we tested. Other air fryer producers, including Cosori and Fritairre, have released models with baskets crafted from glass, ceramic and other materials that contain no PFAS. When I visited Ninja’s headquarters last year, a product rep for the brand told me they were phasing out all chemical nonstick-coated air fryer baskets and replacing them with nonstick ceramic or glass.
So can your air fryer cause Teflon Flu?
Technically, an air fryer basket could cause Teflon Flu if the surface were heated to 500°F or higher for an extended period, but most air fryers don’t exceed 450°F for that very reason. Many of the air fryers we’ve tested only reach a maximum temperature of 400 F.
It’s also important to avoid damaging your nonstick air fryer basket to avoid bits of the chemical coating flaking off into food. Always use soft utensils, such as wooden or food-safe silicone, when handling food inside the basket, and never scrub your basket with coarse sponges or wire scrubbies.
What to do if your air fryer goes to 500 F
If your air fryer has a setting that allows it to reach temperatures above 500 F and a nonstick basket, avoid cooking at such high temperatures. You may consider replacing your air fryer with one that doesn’t just to be safe. If it’s capable of hitting 500 F, it might do so just from natural temperature fluctuations and is probably not worth the risk.
If you’re still worried about Teflon Flu or other complications associated with nonstick, there are air fryers with ceramic, stainless-steel and glass cooking chambers.
For more air fryer safety tips, see our guide to using these trendy countertop cookers safely.
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