We've been using random unbranded silicone cookware and parchment paper with air fryer. Should we switch?
Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
11–20 of 25 posts
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#12Is cyclic siloxanes the same as cyclosiloxane?
I thought silicone was recommended over plastics/nonstick/etc because it's inert and chemically simple. The wikipedia says that cyclosiloxane is volatile, often used as a solvent, and evaporates.
Since it declines over time, it doesn't seem to be the result of normal wear/tear of the bakeware which does suggest it's something added during the manufacturing process. I've heard of doing an initial bake of silicone bakeware to remove factory stuff...
So is silicone as a cooking material actually fairly complex, new, and not as well understood as I thought (similar to plastics)? Or is this an avoidable manufacturing thing.
Also they mention "concerns", but I couldn't find any known health risks. Is this similar to microplastics, where it could be an issue but it isn't clear yet? Or are they known to be harmful?
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#13Just season some carbon steel baking pans. The seasoning is non-stick like coating. And works well enough for most things in my experience.
And carcinogenic as fuck. "Seasoning" is basically plastic made from burnt oil with constituents including acrylamides.
Why not cook on less toxic surfaces that are clean?
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#14Is cyclic siloxanes the same as cyclosiloxane? I thought silicone was recommended over plastics/nonstick/etc because it's inert and chemically simple. The wikipedia says that cyclosiloxane is volatile, often used as a solvent, and evaporates. Since it declines over time, it doesn't seem to be the result of normal wear/tear of the bakeware which does suggest it's something added during the manufacturing process. I've…
I'm no chemist.
They were nice enough to provide repeat experiments in 3.5, figure 2. It shows the release of c-siloxane drops of dramatically after the first baking. Then it tapers off.
That suggests to me this is not a structural component, but a solvent, softener, coating or similar that sits between the structural silicone. Otherwise, I'd expect reports of the silicone molds degrading after baking. Though I guess it could be material that simply didn't mate with a polymer chain. But that doesn't jive with the (sparse) Wikipedia article [1].
This doesn't say anything about whether they are inert. If they are inert and not meant to be bound to anything, then it makes sense they'll be washed away, and that doesn't matter (in the PFAS sense, where it turns out it does eventually matter :).
The EU is looking at D4-6 because it's bioaccumulative. Canada (where this study is from) looks at D4 [2].
Overall, this looks like a very comprehensive study. Many aspects covered. I'd like to also complain that mixing "cyclic siloxane" with "c-siloxane" makes it much more difficult to search through the paper. Why not stick with one name?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclosiloxane
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siloxane#Safety_and_environmen...
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#15Just season some carbon steel baking pans. The seasoning is non-stick like coating. And works well enough for most things in my experience.
And carcinogenic as fuck. "Seasoning" is basically plastic made from burnt oil with constituents including acrylamides. Why not cook on less toxic surfaces that are clean?
Acrylimides do not apear to be likely to acumulate on iron cookware, and types that may be formed in food, are not concidered probimatic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamides
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#16Just season some carbon steel baking pans. The seasoning is non-stick like coating. And works well enough for most things in my experience.
And carcinogenic as fuck. "Seasoning" is basically plastic made from burnt oil with constituents including acrylamides. Why not cook on less toxic surfaces that are clean?
If your worried about acrylamides then you should not be browning any starchy foods. A lot cooking intentionally wants the Maillard reaction for flavor and texture reasons.
When it comes to seasoning carbon steel you should not be letting carbon build up. It's a bad habit. If your getting carbon build up clean it off with something coarse like salt or a metal scrubber. After that if you need to it's not hard to give a pan a quick touch up seasoning with oil. Carbon steel is much quick to touch up season than something like cast iron. Cast irons rough sand cast surface means you generally need a much much thicker seasoning layer.
You also should still clean the pan too! Modern dish washing detergents are generally not made from lye so won't strip your seasoning.
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#17We've been using random unbranded silicone cookware and parchment paper with air fryer. Should we switch?
I use a ninja crispi these days. It's incredibly easy to clean. The food goes directly on the glass. I threw away their plastic tray thing the moment I found it in the packaging.
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#18What effects does exposure have?
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#19What effects does exposure have?
[dead]
Re: Silicone bakeware as source of human exposure to cyclic siloxanes
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
"In February 2024, the FDA announced that substances containing PFAS used as grease-proofing agents on paper and paperboard for food contact use are no longer being sold by manufacturers into the U.S. market." [0] [0] https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/authorize...
They could be sitting on ten years of supply.
We learned around 2020 that wasn't the case.