Types of Cookware and Health Safety

by Health Canada

Pots, pans and other cookware are made from a variety of materials. These materials can enter the food that we cook in them. Most of the time, this is harmless. However, care should be taken with some materials.

Most of the cookware in Canada is safe to use for daily meal preparation, as long as you maintain it well and use it as intended. However, there are some potential risks in some cookware materials.

Benefits and Risks of Cookware Materials

Aluminum: Aluminum is lightweight, conducts heat well and is fairly inexpensive, making it a popular choice for cooking.

Canadians normally take in about 10 milligrams of aluminum daily, mostly from food. Aluminum pots and pans provide only one or two milligrams of the total. While aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer's disease, there is no definite link proven. The World Health Organization estimates that adults can consume more than 50 milligrams of aluminum daily without harm.

During cooking, aluminum dissolves most easily from worn or pitted pots and pans. The longer food is cooked or stored in aluminum, the greater the amount that gets into food. Leafy vegetables and acidic foods, such as tomatoes and citrus products, absorb the most aluminum.

Anodized Aluminum Cookware: When aluminum is placed in an acid solution and exposed to an electric current, a layer of aluminum oxide is deposited on the surface of the aluminum. This process is called anodization.

Anodized aluminum cookware conducts heat as well as ordinary aluminum, but has a hard, non- stick surface which makes it scratch-resistant, durable, and easy to clean. Anodization also reduces leaching of aluminum from cookware into foods, particularly acidic foods like tomatoes and rhubarb.

Copper: Copper conducts heat well, making it easy to control cooking temperatures. Brass, made from copper and zinc, is less commonly used for cookware.

Small amounts of copper are good for everyday health. However, large amounts in a single dose or over a short period can be poisonous. It is not certain how much can be safely taken each day.

Because of this, copper and brass pans sold in Canada are coated with another metal that prevents the copper from coming into contact with food. Small amounts of the coating can be dissolved by food, especially acidic food, when cooked or stored for long periods.

Coated copper cookware can lose its protective layer if scoured.

In the past, tin and nickel were sometimes used in coating copper cookware. Such cookware should be used for decorative purposes only. Anyone allergic to nickel should particularly avoid nickel-coated cookware.

Stainless Steel and Iron Cookware: Stainless steel, made from iron and other metals, is strong and resists wear and tear. It is inexpensive, long-lasting and the most popular cookware in North America. The metals used in stainless steel or iron cookware which may produce health effects are iron, nickel and chromium.

Iron is essential to produce red blood cells. Large amounts can be poisonous, but in North America, we are more likely to lack iron than have too much. Iron cookware provides less than 20% of total daily iron intake - well within safe levels.

Nickel is not poisonous in small quantities but it can provoke a reaction in people allergic to nickel. The average adult consumes between 150 to 250 micrograms of nickel per day. Using corrosion-resistant nickelcontaining stainless steel cookware, even for cooking acidic foods such as rhubarb, apricots or tomatoes, will not add significant amounts of nickel to the diet.

Small doses of chromium, like iron, are good for your health, but they can be harmful in higher amounts. The safe intake range is about 50 to 200 micrograms per day, what most Canadians take in. One meal prepared with stainless steel equipment gives you about 45 micrograms of chromium, not enough to cause concern.

Ceramic, Enamel and Glass: Ceramic (pottery), enamel or glass cookware is easily cleaned and can be heated to fairly high temperatures. Ceramic cookware is glazed; similar glazes are applied to metals to make enamelware. These glazes, a form of glass, resist wear and corrosion.

The only health concern about using glassware or enamelware comes from minor components used in making, glazing, or decorating them, such as pigments, lead, or cadmium. These materials are harmful when taken into the body, so the risk of them entering food is controlled during the manufacturing process.

About the Author

www.hc-sc.gc.ca
Health Canada is the Federal department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health, while respecting individual choices and circumstances.