Government agencies throughout the world affirmed that products made with fluoropolymers are safe for their intended uses.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the chief federal agency responsible for researching PFOA in the environment. On the EPA’s PFOA web site, the agency notes:
“Consumer products made with fluoropolymers include nonstick cookware, and breathable, all-weather clothing. These products are not PFOA, however. The information that EPA has available does not indicate that the routine use of household products poses a concern. EPA does not have any indication that the public is being exposed to PFOA through the use of Teflon®-coated or other trademarked nonstick cookware. Teflon® and other trademarked products are not PFOA. At the present time, EPA does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any products because of concerns about PFOA.”
On its “Basic Information” section, EPA provides more detailed answers to frequently asked questions about PFOA, including whether there is a risk from consumer or industrial use of products made with PFOA, including fluoropolymers. EPA notes:
“At the present time, EPA does not believe there is any reason for consumers to stop using any consumer or industrial related products because of concerns about PFOA. EPA does not have any indication that the public is being exposed to PFOA through the use of Teflon®-coated or other trademarked nonstick cookware. Teflon® and other trademarked products are not PFOA.”
Commenting on research by the Food and Drug Administration, Paul Honigfort, Ph.D., Consumer Safety Officer for FDA, stated on November 22, 2005:
“At this time, we have no reason to change our position that the use of …perfluorocarbon resin…[nonstick] coatings are safe for use in contact with food as described in the applicable regulations or notifications.”
In June, 2005, based on a comprehensive review of the toxicity of PFOA, the European Food Safety Authority, FDA’s European counterpart, concluded that the use of PFOA in food contact applications should only be permitted in consumer uses that result in negligible exposure. The agency concluded that use of PFOA to produce repeated-use articles (e.g., nonstick cookware products) that are sintered at high temperatures prior to use would meet this standard. EFSA based this conclusion on its review of the worst-case potential migration that could be predicted from available data.
On March 3, 2006, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (GAQSIQ) announced that nonstick cookware that meets the Chinese national mandatory standards may be used without concern. A spokesman reminded consumers that, when using nonstick cookware, they should not heat empty cookware to temperatures exceeding 250 ºC (482ºF).
Earlier, in a press release dated October 14, 2004, China’s General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) concluded that “no PFOA was detected” (at the analytical detection limit of 1 microgram PFOA per kilogram coating, or one part per billion by weight) in nonstick woks that represented 90% of the total market for this product in China. This result demonstrates that the amount of PFOA present in nonstick coatings, if any, was less than the analytical detection limit. An expert group of scientists within the GAQSIAQ reviewed the study and concluded that the “testing methodology met high international standards” and “the test result is reliable.”
In November 2006, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) – an independent scientific committee which advises the UK’s Food Standards Agency, Department of Health and other British government agencies– concluded that estimated intakes of PFOA from foods in the UK are not of concern for human health. This conclusion is based on the results of the UK Food Standards Agency analysis of food samples from the 2004 Total Diet Study. COT noted that the estimate high level adult dietary intakes of PFOA from the Total Diet Study are lower than the recommended Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI), the quantity of a contaminant substance in food or water which can be ingested daily over a lifetime without posing a significant risk to health. [TDI definition available at http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/glossary/tolerable...] COT determined the TDI based on the extensive data available on PFOA and used a 100-fold safety factor to account for any uncertainty in extrapolating from laboratory animal data to human health. Since the estimated dietary intakes of PFOA are lower than the level that can be consumed every day without health risk, the UK government expert panel concluded that “estimated intakes are not of concern regarding human health.”