Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Are Nonstick Titanium Fry Pans or Titanium Reinforced Fry Pans Teflon Free?

Every kind of fry pan on market seems to have its own disadvantage except nonstick titanium fry pan:

Teflon-coated non-stick fry pans are easily weared off, scratched and isn’t durable in the long run. And there are some controversy if teflon-coated fry pans are safe with issues associated with scratched coating and high heat (over 500 degrees Fahrenheit).
Hard-Anodized aluminum fry pans are not really non-stick and stains easily, and they are not dishwasher-safe. Nonstick Hard-Anodized aluminum fry pans use Teflon for interior coating too.
Copper fry pans tend to heat and cool quickly and efficiently. They are also heavier, more durable, and generally more expensive. But copper pans usually react with the acidity of certain foods.
Cast iron fry pans are the all-time classic. Rust can be a problem so the inside should be coated frequently with unsalted cooking oil. User have to pay more attention to safe problem.
Stainless steel fry pans – durable and long lasting. Can go in the dishwasher, but they don’t conduct heat very well, and are therefore less energy-efficient. Stainless steel fry pans are not nonstick too.

Titanium fry pan seems to be an ideal choice. It has many advantages but overcomes all disadvantages of other fry pans according to some reviews.
Are these nonstick titanium fry pans or titanium reinforced fry pans Teflon free? I can hardly find a solution from a product description.
Look at this from some nonstick titanium fry pans description:
"Breakthrough scratch resistant, non-stick technology is now available to you at an affordable price for everyday use." "The ultimate long lasting pan is created when titanium oxide is fired on to the pan surface at 4000’C at 700mph. This process creates the Titanium Alpha 2000 coating, which is scale 9 on the hardness scale (only exceeded by diamonds, which is scale 10)." -  This description makes me to guess that the new technology is different from old Teflon nonstick technology  and is Teflon-free because Teflon coating is scratchable.
Look at the following product desription from another titanium fry pan manufacturer:
"Scanpan cookware has always been PFOA free, but the negative publicity that PFOA and, by extension, PTFE had received over the last few years, had caused Scanpan to work closely with their suppliers to find a substitute for PFOA that is environmentally friendly and biodegradable. Scanpan received patents on PFOA-free technology in 2007 and has been producing Scanpan Classic and Scanpan Professional with this new process since spring 2007. With their new Green Tek technology, there is no PFOA used at any stage of the entire process, resulting in a 'clean and green' nonstick PTFE compound, the production of which no longer uses chemicals that could have a negative impact on the environment." - Atleast it admits that  some material similar to Teflon is used for nonstick titanium fry pan coating. But this coating is PFOA free while old Teflon coating technology contains PFOA.

Now it seems to me that these nonstick titanium fry pans or titanium reinforced fry pans are not Teflon-free even though the new fry pan coating is harder and long lasting.  Are these nonstcik titanium fry pans or titanium reinforced cookware safe? All manufacturers claim they are safe. But there is some different voice.

I do find some Teflon-free titanium cookware on market. These titanium fry pans look totally different from those nonstick titanium fry pans or titanium reinforced fry pans. One can simply tell that these fry pans are pure titanium cookwares because titanium metal has a silver color.