Air Fryers can cause cancer

Question

This article is saying how the non-stick coating in air fryers is toxic.

Comments

I feel like this is just a little lazy. You could have given a couple sentences about what specifically is toxic in the coating but yet you didn't and basically just said to read the article if you were interested.

Answer 1

Hi! In my findings, I found that the claim that air friers cause cancer is not entirely true, but I see how you might have jumped to that conclusion. According to many sources, the notion that air-frying food causes cancer stems from a grain of truth. When air frying food, there are trace amounts of acrylamide, which is classified as a carcinogen, found in the non-stick coating. According to one source, when cooking potatoes in the air fryer they showed the highest average acrylamide content compared to deep-fried or oven fried or deep fried potatoes. Despite this, experts emphasize there is no conclusive evidence linking dietary acrylamide intake to cancer in humans. If you are truly concerned, oven frying produced the lowest overall intake. Air frying is still much healthier than deep frying because the food has less oil, fat, and calories, and studies show from that same article that soaking certain starchy foods in water significantly lowers the acrylamide content.  See here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10808661/ 

https://www.poison.org/articles/do-air-fryers-cause-cancer#:~:text=Air%2Dfrying%20equipment%20is%20not,as%20a%20probable%20human%20carcinogen. 

Answer 2

According to The National Poison Control Center, air fryers themselves do not cause cancer, however the process of air frying does result in the formation of acrylamide, a compound linked to cancer development. The problem with this claim however is the fact that though acrylamide is linked to cancer development, there is no clear evidence that acrylamide from food causes cancer in humans. Additionally, this compound is found in multiple other common foods that people ingest everyday like coffee, bread, and other baked or roasted foods and there is no evidence to conclude that the acrylamide from those foods causes cancer any more or less than it does from foods made in an air fryer.

https://www.poison.org/articles/do-air-fryers-cause-cancer

Additionally, the Cleveland Clinic brings up that the process of air frying can increase the levels of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) in fish specifically. These COPs are linked to an increase in heart disease, cancer and other medical conditions however, the risk associated with COPs and air fryers is significantly less than deep-fried foods.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-air-fryers-healthy

Overall, there is a linkage between air fryers and cancer despite the fact that there is some disagreement on the topic. I would conclude that this claim is true with the current information and studies that have been performed.

Answer 3

It is accurate that some air fryers contain non-stick coatings made with chemicals such as PFAS or PTFE, which can have health ramifications when exposure is repeated over a long period of time, or an air fryer is used in extreme situations. Even so, there is no compelling evidence that using an air fryer on an 'as directed', or even in excess leads to cancer. For instance, one review claimed "air fryers can be healthier than deep fryers, since deep fried food has a greater cancer risk, and acrylamide is produced in the process" (Verywell Health). Another review claimed "air fryers aren't unsafe, but we should be careful about damaged or burned coatings, or overheating starchy foods in them" and when used in usual ways "you have nothing to worry about" (Woman & Home). It is true that there can be health consequences with the PFAS coatings should the air fryers be improperly used or used at high levels (Homes & Gardens), however, most of the other sources that profile air fryers and PFAS state there is no risks of cancer or concerns about toxicity in normal use. Therefore, to say: "the non-stick coating in air fryers is toxic and causes cancer" is misleading, or not necessarily evidence based.

Answer 4

The claim that “Air fryers Cause Cancer” is a statement unsupported. After a simple search, we can understand that air fryers simply existing does not cause cancer. However, Dr. Dimple Jangda claims that “non-stick coating makes it toxic, releasing heavy metals into your food”. These specific metals are proven to be toxic to your health. In order to confirm Dr. Dimple Jangda is a reputable source to be listening to for this information, I found her website that confirmed her study at Harvard and Stanford. By clarifying her credibility we can conclude that this information is true about the non-stick toxicity.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/health/health-news/air-fryers-are-toxic-and-can-cause-cancer-says-expert-heres-how/ar-AA1v38LM?ocid=BingNewsVerp

https://www.pranabydimple.com/team

I then went to another credible outside source in hopes of trying to find the connection to air fryers and cancer. Poison.org supplied me with an article named “Do air fryers cause cancer?”. This is a trustable source in that the organization has to go through many loops to publish in order to sustain consistent truthful information. They talk about how the chemical acrylamide is toxic but “to date there is no conclusive evidence that acrylamide causes cancer in humans”.

https://www.poison.org/articles/do-air-fryers-cause-cancer

This debunks the statement that “Air Fryers Cause Cancer” by clarifying that they can be toxic if certain metals and nonstick are heated up. Air fryers are not direct causes of cancer. This statement could be adjusted to state that air fryers can expose humans to toxic properties. The article could highlight that cancer is a possible outcome from continuously exposing yourself to the dangerous metals/toxins that come from cooking with an air fryer.

Answer 5

During my research, I found that there were several mixed answers. However, one thing that stood out was that while the air fryer itself does not directly cause cancer, it does essentially create the building blocks for development. The MSN article claimed, "According to Dr. Dimple Jangda, a gut-health expert, non-stick coating makes it toxic, releasing heavy metals into your food.". Which seems to be true when looking at different articles, one in particular by the National Capital Poison Center, "Air-frying equipment is not known to cause cancer, but the process of air frying does result in the formation of certain compounds, like acrylamide, that are linked to cancer development.". Understanding the clear difference is important to understanding what is safe and what is not. This seems to be slightly misleading solely for the reason that it's not the actual air frying equipment that could harm you, it's the coatings used within the mechanism.

https://www.poison.org/articles/do-air-fryers-cause-cancer#:~:text=Air%2Dfrying%20equipment%20is%20not,amounts%20of%20acrylamide%20when%20cooked.

Answer 6

This article by MSM headline claims that air fryers cause cancer. However, this is greatly misleading and clickbait. If you look deeper into the article and others about the same subject, like this one from Poison Control, it claims that, “Air-frying equipment is not known to cause cancer”. What causes cancer is the process of air frying certain which can cause a certain chemical, “Acrylamide” to form. This is formed when food is heated to a temperature above 250 degrees Fahrenheit. This mostly forms in materials that are high in carbs, like french fries, potatoes, and baked goods. However, this can be formed in meat and vegetables, but the levels of acrylamide are very small.

The MSM site also claims some facts which seem to be true, but weren't mentioned in the poison control site, that air fryers are coated in something, and when heated, they can release toxic fumes. This is a toxic fume. Although most air fryers do have this, according to Fritaire, Teflon is used in many other cooking products, and it’s safe at low cooking temperatures. This article from Cnet claims that Teflon melts when the temperature goes above 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Most air fryers, like my Instant Vortex Plus, have a temperature limit. So, although most air fryers do contain Teflon, which can be burned. It is extremely hard, and nothing to worry about.

Answer 7

The article exaggerates risk and focuses on fear-inducing phrases rather than verified data. The Time now article “Air fryers are toxic, can cause cancer says expert; here’s how,” reviewed against general food safety research on acrylamides and non-stick coatings talks about how while some chemicals like acrylamides can form during high-heat cooking, this is not unique to air fryers, and using them properly is considered safe. The headline makes it sound like air fryers directly cause cancer, which is misleading.