Short answer: the smooth coating in almost every non-stick pan is made of PFAS. These substances don't break down in nature, they now turn up in the blood of nearly everyone, and Europe is moving to ban them. While the coating is intact, little happens. But it wears away, scratch by scratch, and what comes off doesn't vanish into thin air. You can also sidestep the whole thing: a pan of solid stainless steel with a silicon dioxide coating cooks just as easily and lasts for years.
Take a good look at your frying pan. Any scratches? Dull patches? Spots where food suddenly does stick?
Then your non-stick coating is disappearing. And the question worth asking is a simple one: where has it gone?
What's actually in a non-stick coating?
PFAS. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of thousands of chemicals that repel grease and water. That's exactly why your fried egg slides straight out.
The problem is what else they do. The bond between carbon and fluorine is one of the strongest chemistry knows. So strong that nature can do nothing with it. They don't break down. Not in ten years, not in a hundred. Which is why they're called forever chemicals.
By now they're everywhere: in rainwater, in fish, in farmland. And in people. The Dutch public health institute RIVM found that people in the Netherlands take in more of them than the amount the European food safety authority EFSA judged safe in 2020.
That isn't a problem for the future. That's where we are today.
Europe is banning these substances
Lawmakers rarely get ahead of the panic. They usually trail behind it. So look at what has already happened:
- PFOA, used for years in the manufacture of non-stick coatings, is now banned across the European Union.
- In 2023 five European countries, the Netherlands among them, filed a proposal to restrict the entire PFAS group. It would be one of the biggest chemical restrictions Europe has ever seen.
So nobody is arguing about whether these substances are a problem. The argument is about how fast they have to go.
The only question left is whether you wait for that, or sort out your own kitchen now.
What happens when your pan gets too hot?
An empty pan on a high heat gets hotter than you'd think within two minutes. Above roughly 260 degrees the coating starts to break down and gives off fumes.
Bird owners have known what those fumes do for decades: a bird in the same room often doesn't survive it. In people it's documented as flu-like symptoms after breathing them in.
Let's be honest. Who's watching the pan for 260 degrees while the kids are waiting at the table and the phone's going?
And the coating you scrape away?
Every scratch is material that has come off your pan. It doesn't dissolve. It goes into whatever you serve up that evening.
On top of that: once the coating is damaged, it stops doing its job. Food sticks, you scrape harder, more comes off. That's how it goes with every non-stick pan, however expensive.
A non-stick pan isn't a purchase. It's a subscription. Every two or three years, all over again. Work out what that costs you over ten years.
The pan that sidesteps the whole problem
No clever trick needed. All it takes is a pan that doesn't get its smoothness from chemistry.
DotShield is solid tri-ply stainless steel with a non-stick coating of silicon dioxide (SiO₂): the same material as sand and glass. Inert, so it reacts with nothing. Not with your tomato sauce, and not when the pan gets too hot for once.
- No PFAS, no PFOA, no PTFE. Nothing that can leach out or fume off.
- No coating that flakes after six months. Five years from now you'll still be taking this pan out of the cupboard every day.
- 3.5 mm solid tri-ply in the frying pans, in the base and the walls. Nothing warps there, not even at full power on induction. No wobbling base, no oil running off to one side.
- Works on every hob: gas, electric, ceramic and induction. And it goes in the oven up to 300 degrees.
- CE and LFGB certified, including DIN 10955. Tested, not promised.
Doesn't food stick to stainless steel?
Straight answer: stainless steel asks a little more of you than a chemical coating does. Two habits and it never bothers you again.
- Don't leave oil heating too long on a high heat. Medium-high is plenty.
- Wash the pan as soon as it has cooled, with a non-abrasive sponge and warm water.
In return you get a pan you don't have to replace every few years, one you can use a metal spatula in, and one you can slide into a 250 degree oven without a second thought.
This is the last frying pan you buy.
What you can do today
- Get your pans out and look. Scratches, dull patches or flaking edges? Then that coating is already on its way to your plate.
- Start with the pan you use most. Usually the 28 cm frying pan. That's where you make the biggest jump.
- Just try it. You get thirty days to change your mind, even if you've already cooked in it, and a five year guarantee.
See the DotShield pans and cook without PFAS from tonight
Frequently asked questions
Should I throw out my current pan straight away?
If the coating is still completely intact, you can carry on using it for now; just never heat it empty. If you can see scratches or flaking, replace it. From that moment on you're eating whatever comes off.
Is PFAS banned in Europe?
PFOA is banned. For the whole PFAS group, a European restriction proposal has been on the table since 2023, filed by five countries including the Netherlands.
What's the difference between PFAS, PFOA and PTFE?
PFAS is the collective name for the whole family. PFOA is one specific substance from that family, used in production and now banned. PTFE is the material of the smooth coating itself, better known as Teflon.
Why is silicon dioxide safe?
SiO₂ is the main component of sand and glass. It's inert: it doesn't react with your food and nothing leaches out, not even at high temperature.
Does a DotShield pan work on induction?
Yes, on every hob: gas, electric, ceramic and induction. The magnetic base layer is picked up straight away and the pan stays flat.
What if I don't get on with the pan?
Then you send it back within thirty days, even if you've cooked in it. On top of that you have a five year guarantee on material and manufacturing faults.