NEW non-stick cookware - is it safe????

[Napoleon]

Hey guys! I discovered some non-stick cookware called "Analon Titanium" and was wondering if it's safe to use around birds. I know Teflon is NOT safe for our lovebird (his cage is in the kitchen). Has anyone heard about the safety of this new non-stick cookware?

By the way, thanks for all your feedback on my "humping," "pinching" lovebird. Great advice! I'm learning that a lot depends on his mood ... just like people. Sometimes he just feels like being naughty.

[Skittlesmom]

I've had to replace my cookware with stainless steel and I just hate it!! Everything sticks. Costco carries the cookware with titanium and it would be wonderful if we could use it. My conure has a doctor's appt. next week...I'll ask the vet because I'd like to know the answer too...If you don't get a reply by then, I'll let you know

[Magnum]

I just got off the phone with DuPont. They are the maker of Autograph*, which is the coating on the Anolon Titanium line. They said the coating is still harmful to birds and should not be used in presents of birds. Teflon is actually a brand name and uses the same chemicals as the Autograph*

Whew, took some cruising around the company to get to the right person, but they were very informative and great to talk to. ;)

[Gina]

Good research Magnum! I was going to reply and guess that it had the same harmful toxins as Teflon but I couldn't find out for certain and didn't want to be accused of slander ;)

If it's non stick it's going to be harmful as far as I'm concerned.

[dlaura]

Great research Magnum! I think we all will just have to cook with the stainless steel for the health of our birds. Thanks for doing the research for us Mags.

[Gina]

I actually love cooking with stainless steel. I really don't know how I lived without it all these years. I rarely have the sticking problem.

[Magnum]

No problem Diane and Gina! Glad to dig in and get it straight from the company. I really have no problem cooking with stainless...sort of been doing it all along anyway. Didn't have non-stick growing up, so Ma taught me some tricks to help in the sticky area...........lol.

[JustJo]

Okay. Now here's probably a stupid question. If the cooking with these is harmful to birds, than why wouldn't it be to our cats and dogs. And even going further, why not to us?

Be gentle...remember I do not know squat about birds!

[Gina]

As far as I'm concerned Jo it probably is harmful to other animals and humans, it just doesn't kill us immediately. But who knows what long term damage the numerous harmful chemiclas that go into producing non-stick items are doing. And it's not just cookware, it's used on numerous things like sofas, carpets, clothes! But it becomes toxic when it's heated to a certain degree, especially if there's nothing in the pan and it's burning the chemiclas off. There are about seven toxic chemicals that go into making brands like Teflon, two are carcenagens (sp?). I think if Teflon is heated to over 600-700 degrees it's classed as a chemical warfare weapon. :eek:

Birds have a unique respiritory system (that's why they use to send canaries down mines to detect gas leaks) and it just effects them much quicker than it does other species.

[dlaura]

Actually Jo it is also harmful to us. Seems that cooking with Teflon has loaded our bodies with micro bits of teflon over the years and we probably don't know yet what kind of harm that can cause. The fumes are very hazardous to birds and is enough to kill a bird if you burn something or even cook something on a higher heat and the fumes are emitted without us being away. Who knows if some of the cancers people suffer from could be related to these type of toxins we are subjected to everyday.

[dlaura]

LOL Gina -- looks like we were posting at same time. What do you use on your stainless steel to keep things from sticking?

[Gina]

Also it's not just when it's heated. The fumes that come out of carpets or furniture that's been protected by these products are also dangerous.

I recently bought a new sofa and recliner but before I did I made sure that they hadn't been treated by anything. I also laid new flooring down in the bird room recently. I looked aroung for carpet but couldn't find any that hadn't been treated. So I settled for wood floors instead.

I overheard an interetsing conversation on a bus not long back. Two old people were talking about the rise in asthma cases. One said to the other ''we never had asthma when I was young'', the other replied ''no, that's because we had linoleum floors''. Makes you think 'eh!

[Gina]

Well dlaura, I eat out a lot ;)

Seriously, I don't use anything apart from oil and I watch over the pans constantly stirring. The only thing I've had problems with are eggs (I'm a vegetarian so I don't know if meat would stick more?). But I have this wonderful stainless steel cleaner (probably toxic in itself!!) which brings them up all sparkly and new looking if I do have something stick. Forget the name but I can look when I get home.

[mousegeek000]

It does! I have astma and I wonder if back then people had it like we do now! I was at a total loss for the past 2 days b/c I lost my inhaler! (I found it today in my car! must have fallen out of my purse!) I actually had to get rid of my 2 babies Mazie and Lexie (rats) b/c they were soooooo bad for my asthma!

[Gina]

Sorry to hear about that mousegeek, I can imagine how frightening it must be to lose your inhaler. My ex had asthma and it could get scary.

I should imagine that environmental conditions cause any respiritory illnesses to get worse. So in the house it would be better to have wood or lino floors. But years ago I bet people who lived in big cities with no pollution controls for factories must have been bad too?!?

[Magnum]

I agree Gina, there are so many chemicals used in products we use, no wonder that cancer, asthma, allergy and other problems are still increasing in numbers. Look at microwaving plastics. Talk about releasing chemicals into the air and the food eaten....... :eek:. I was diagnosed with asthma, but I rarely have to use my inhaler anymore. I attribute this to my birds by making my home a bird safe home. Since I have had them, my own symptoms have reduced a great deal. ;) Now, getting my brother's home squared away is another story.........lol. Sheesh, clutter is a mild term, but it's getting better every day & night.

Mouse, sorry to hear about losing your inhaler. Gosh, that must have been scarey.: (

[Squawksx3]

Great work detective Mag!! :D . Thank you for bringing the subject up Napoleon... We can never be to educated when it comes to safety!. I've been cooking with stainless steel for along time now... and dont like it. Oh, and be careful when you drink the water :eek: hehe

[dlaura]

Jan,
Do you have any tips on how to cook with stainless steel and not have things stick?

[Squawksx3]

I dunno Diane... thats why I dont like it LOL.... lotsa elbow grease I guess :o .

[Magnum]

Diane, what I was taught was to not heat the pan too hot before putting the food into it. Extreme heat causes the food to actually burn into the pan. starting off with lower temps, then place the food in, and slowly increase the heat will allow the food to get a film (cooked area) on it and reduce the sticking. Another trick is to season your pan. Just like a cast iron skillet, stainless has pores that open with heat. Air is in the pores and causes the sticking because full coverage of the oil is not possible. We wash our stainless in hot, soapy water and it removes the oil from the pores, then air gets trapped in there again when the pan cools. I heat the pan, put enough oil to just coat it, get it hot, then place it in a sink filled about 1 inch with cool water. Gotta be careful to not get a smidgeon of water in the pan. :eek: This closes the pores with the oil in it and I resume cooking. Eggs are tough because they are very fragile and stick like glue with too much heat. Keep the heat low and eggs do just fine. Takes longer to cook them, but they won't stick and will be more tender.

I will admit it took me a while to get the hang of adjusting to the thickness of the pan vs. the amount of heat to use. Growing up, I learned on my Ma's cookware, but I found out when I was on my own that not all stainless cookware is made the same, so that has a huge impact on sticking as well.

[savas]

I got new pots and pans for a wedding present and haven't used them yet. I am not sure if they are non-stick or not. We don't have a bird yet, but we wanted to get one....do you think they would take the box back a year after the fact(if they are non-stick?)?

[wrchili]

This is probably a stupid question, but can you not use non stick cookware at all if you have birds, or is it okay as long as the bird isn't around it, like two rooms away? I'm thinking about getting a bird and was just curious.

[Gina]

Do you notice a black or gray coating inside the pans? If you do it's probably non-stick.

You can use non-stick with birds, it's only if you heat it too high or forget the pan is on and let it burn that it lets out the toxic fumes. Lets face it this is really, really easy to do. Doesn't matter if the birds are in a closed room at the other end of the house, chances are they'll be dead within minutes. I just don't think it's worth the risk.

I had non-stick and was ultra, ultra careful when cooking with it. But one day I forgot something in the oven and it burned real bad. I had a mass panic but it turns out the pan I had the food on wasn't non-stick *phew!!*. I chucked everything I owned out after that.

[prcstar17]

Does anyone know the exact temp. you can heat it to?... I have a vast array of pans, but I'd just like to know how high is too high of a heat? I only have a med and high setting on my stove (Well, and fry, boil, etc.) so I dont know the exact temps of them. :(

[Gina]

Here are a few interesting links for you to read. Seems that anything between 285-500 can be dangerous. I think it also depends on the age of the pans etc.

http://www.quakerparrots.com/qtips/more_thoughts_on_teflon.htm

http://www.quakerville.net/qic/ptfe.asp

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/hazards.html

[Magnum]

When I spoke to DuPont, I asked about the upper edge of the cookware that does not have food or oil on it to absorb the heat transfer. They said the upper portion does get hotter than the lower area containing the food being cooked.