Want to avoid forever chemicals? Here are nine of the best PFAS-free frying pans

By Linda Geddes | The Guardian | February 28, 2025

Read the full article by Linda Geddes (The Guardian)

"Whether you’re making pancakes, seared steaks or fluffy omelettes, a frying pan that sizzles food without sticking to it is a kitchen necessity. Yet health and environmental concerns about non-stick coatings and “forever chemicals” are making it increasingly complicated to pick the perfect pan.

Manufacturers of non-stick coatings insist they’re perfectly safe, but a growing number of companies are advertising their products as PFOA- or PFOS-free, all the same. So what are these controversial chemicals, and what’s the alternative if you don’t want your food to stick?

What are forever chemicals, or PFAS?

For the uninitiated, per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals that have been added to various consumer products, including cookware, since the 1950s. There are thousands of these chemicals, and they’re extremely useful, allowing dirt, grease – and eggs – to slide off surfaces. But once thrown away, it can take hundreds or even thousands of years for PFAS to degrade, which is why they are often referred to as “forever chemicals”. They can also leach out of landfill to contaminate soil and water, and accumulate in the tissues of living things over time. That can “threaten the wellbeing of species already struggling under mounting environmental pressures,” says Hannah Evans, a project manager at the environmental charity Fidra."