Indeed. I'm not a big fan of Teflon. But at least it's almost completely inert (unless overheated), which makes it much less likely to be harmful than substitutes.

> But at least it's almost completely inert (unless overheated), which makes it much less likely to be harmful than substitutes.

I don’t think that’s a strong argument. Asbestos is quite inert, and that is what makes it so harmful. A fiber will, over time, harm more and more cells.

Teflon isn’t a sub-cellular sized needle though.

Probably breaks down to shorter chain PFAS

https://chemsec.org/the-teflon-chemical-ptfe-is-often-touted...

Although it is claimed that very little migrates to food

https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/authorize...

The monomer used to make it is considered "probably carcinogenic"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrafluoroethylene#Safety

so occupational exposure at the factory and environmental release are concerns.

> The monomer used to make it is considered "probably carcinogenic"

Yeah, this is what I heard before. That the coating itself isn't so bad, but the manufacturing process produces stuff that is awful enough that we probably shouldn't use it.

"overheated" seems to be doing a lot of work here. It's extremely easy to heat a teflon coated pan to the point where it becomes harmful. Teflon flu isn't good for humans and is absolutely fatal to birds. Non-stick cookware releases toxic gases at typical cooking temperatures. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28913736/

yup, acidity breaking plastic down is a big no no, for ANY human contact or use in a engineered structural component. the latest "eco plastic" offering fits into the same category as the latest battery tech, wonder food, la la la, foofoo berries. Some of these things WILL pan out eventualy, but the evaluation needs to be cold blooded, and explicit based on access to real test data and real world third party evaluation. Till then it's quasi organic energy enhancing foo foo berry powder, though the expectation is that we all abase ourselves before the deployment of the magic word, sustainability.