I don’t recommend any coated pans
While this pan is Lead-free (and is also negative for other toxicants like Cadmium, Arsenic and Mercury) I would not personally choose to use something like this in my home. The main reason for my concern with a pan like this is that the surface coating wears off. I tried to capture (in the photos below) the level of wear on the surface and edges of the food surface of the pan.
Continue reading below the images…
Edge of pan, showing worn white interior surface.
Inside bottom food surface of pan showing scratches where coating has worn off.
But Tamara, I heard that titanium-based coatings are safe!?
It is my understanding that this sort of “ceramic” (Titanium-based) non-stick coating has not been studied enough to fully determine that it is actually safe for use by humans, especially given the degree to which the surface coating may wear into the food being prepared in the vessel (under normal use conditions.)
Here’s my affiliate link to these pans on Amazon* so you can see them “in the wild” (but again, I do not recommend them): https://amzn.to/2RunvUQ
In general I stay away from the following types of pans:
- Pans with non-stick coatings
- Pans with ceramic coatings
- Pans with rubberized handles
- Pans with colorful decorative enameled exterior (or interior) surfaces
- Pans with decorative yellow brass elements
For cooking whenever possible I like to stick with:
- Plain undecorated cast iron
- Plain undecorated high quality stainless steel
- Plain undecorated clear glass
- Bamboo or other wood (steamers, spoons, etc.)
When tested with an XRF instrument this “GREEN+LIFE” saucepan had the following readings:
Reading #1) Interior White Food Surface:
(if a metal is not listed it was not detected by the XRF)
All tests done for a minimum of 60 seconds.
- Zinc (Zn): 74 +/- 16 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 159 +/- 30 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 3,198 +/- 197 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 63,800 +/- 1,600 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 230 +/- 38 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 3,111 +/- 262 ppm
Reading #2) Exterior Mint Green / Teal Colored Surface:
- Zinc (Zn): 2,222 +/- 103 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 5,957 +/- 243 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 4,336 +/- 282 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 39,700 +/- 1,300 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 241 +/- 56 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 6,027 +/- 280 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 4,217 +/- 367 ppm
Continue reading below image.
Reading #3) Green Plastic/Rubberized Handle:
- Zinc (Zn): 17 +/- 9 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 31 +/- 11 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 366 +/- 35 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 18,100 +/- 500 ppm
Reading #4) Logo Area of Rubberized Handle:
- Barium (Ba): 215 +/- 107 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 18 +/- 10 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 305 +/- 34 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 16,700 +/- 500 ppm
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Hi Tamara,
Thank you for the information! I really like what you do!
But when I asked the Greenpan customer support if their products have titanium, they said no. (FYI, Greenpan, Greenlife, and Greenchef are three brands belonging to the same company.) Their original response is exactly as below:
“None of our coatings contains titanium or titanium dioxyde.”
But your report showed that the Greenlife pan does have titanium in both the coating and the other parts.
So I was wondering if you are able to test the titanium in a “Greenpan” pan other than a “Greenlife” pan? Since the Greenpan representative said the Greenpan is high-end while Greenlife as well as Greenchef is low to mid-end.
If their Greenpan pan also contains titanium, then I would doubt the words of the Greenpan representative.
Thank you in advance!
Jing
Hi Jing!
That’s so funny that they say it does not have titanium. I have never had a company deny their product has titanium (and this one clearly does, at very high levels!)
Here’s a link about how my testing works (if you want to send some things in): https://tamararubin.com/2017/07/subscribe-in-support-of-my-advocacy-work-you-can-become-eligible-to-send-in-a-box-of-your-things-for-testing/
Thank you for being in touch!
Tamara
If the coating is worn down pretty thin would it be reading titanium in the base layer that the coating was applied to? So the representative could have be technically correct (but misleading) when they said ‘our *coating* doesn’t contain any titanium’ and just been mum on whether their *product* has titanium.
Hi Tamara,
Thank you for everything you do! I was hoping to send you a few dishes that I recently purchased so you can test them. please let me know if you’re able to do this and provide me with some information on how to send the dishes to you.
Thanks
Hi Lety!
Here is a link that talks about how to participate in the testing that I do: https://tamararubin.com/2017/07/subscribe-in-support-of-my-advocacy-work-you-can-become-eligible-to-send-in-a-box-of-your-things-for-testing/
Tamara
Hi Tamara, is titanium known to be a carcinogen? I was considering buying titanium cookware because I have heard that it is an inert metal and is even safer than stainless steel. What are your thoughts on this cookware? Thank you in advance for your reply.
Sheila
Hi Sheila,
Titanium is generally considered safe and inert. My concern is the level to which the surface coating wears on an item painted with titanium based paint. Paint and coatings like this may also contain many other things not detectible with the XRF (for example types of plastics.) We have had some solid titanium cookware too and also titanium dishes and cutlery – I think metal (uncoated / undecorated) titanium cookware is general a good choice.
T
Hi Tamara, I really appreciate your blog. It’s been massively helpful. I’m curious if there are any brands you can for cast iron or glass saucepan. Looking for something around 2-3 liters or larger. Thank you for everything 🙂
Hi Tamara, how long do you think it would take a cost like this to wear down with a silicone non abrasive spatula though? Sure it may not be “as durable or long lasting as cast iron, but it sure is nice to have non-stick pan without all that weight.
Lastly, I’m curious what your take on carbon steel is? Works just like cast iron without the weight. Nontoxic, etc. thanks.
What do you think of Calphalon stainless steel construction with heavy gauge aluminum CORE sandwiched between two layers of Stainless steel? They advertise as safe from leaking of any harmful substance. Thanks!
Hi Tamara I had a look at the site mamavation, people in the comment section asking alot of question. So this has put me inconfusion I want to buy few different cookware and rotate around.
My question is Iam looking for single different makr cooking pots that are NON TOXIC in any way. Can recommend me some if you can post recommendation to my email or a site that clear state without confusion this will be very helpful.
My email is hkhan2584@hotmail.com
Thanks.
Hi there!
Thanks for commenting. Answering your question is really worthy of its own post. However quickly I will say that there are bloggers out there who don’t understand the science and who make recommendations primarily on their bottom line (the commissions they make from sales.) I test things without corporate influence and I only recommend things that I have tested personally and found to be Lead free. I also don’t have recommendations for all types of products (and try to only recommend products I would use in my home).
My recommendation is for you to review all of the different posts I have written with XRF test results for various products and make an educated decision based on that information.
Here’s my “Pots & Pans” category link: https://tamararubin.com/category/pots-and-pans/
Also here’s my Amazon store which has items we use in our home (either the exact items and brands or items similar to the ones we use in our home):
https://tamararubin.com/2018/07/lead-safe-mamas-amazon-store/
I would never use any of the pans with any kind of coating on the interior.
We eat a lot of raw / fresh foods and when we cook we cook in a mix of cast iron, stainless steel and clear glass.
Tamara
Has anyone ever tested the “Rock” pots and pans? They are ceramic and rough inside. The company that makes them is Starfrit. Do they contain lead or cadmium?
I’ve read a lot about how red most likely contains codium but they say they’re codium free. I recently purchased the red green life and now I’m worried about if they still have codium in them. Have you tested the red?
No = I have not tested those yet.
Hello,
I am trying to make sense of these readings as there is no explanation. My wife was a former chemistry teacher at Berkeley and is a cancer physician and she laughed and said she had no idea either. Would help to explain what these readings are and what the baselines are in regard to toxicity, etc.
Thank you.
Zinc (Zn): 17 +/- 9 ppm
Copper (Cu): 31 +/- 11 ppm
Iron (Fe): 366 +/- 35 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 18,100 +/- 500 ppm
A good place to start is to watch the documentary feature film I directed and produced.
I often do presentations sponsored by health departments where doctors and nurses and educators get continuing education credits for attending and watching the film and participating in a post-screening discussion. Here’s the link to the film (it has interviews with top scientists and medical professionals): https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/a-link-to-my-film/
In response to your specific question – these are XRF readings of the surface of the pan. Your wife should be able to explain to you about XRF technology – but there is some more information here: https://tamararubin.com/2016/12/ask-tamara-what-do-you-use-to-test-for-lead/
Using the reading you noted – for example – for zinc – 17 +/- 9 means the range of zinc is “Seventeen plus or minus nine parts per million” – which is a range between 8 ppm and 26 ppm (seventeen minus nine is eight, seventeen plus nine is 26).
In most cases we do not interpret this data for our readership but encourage you to interpret it yourself.
We give our readers information to help them make informed choices about specific toxicity concerns.
The main concern with this pan is the Titanium Dioxide based coating.
Titanium Dioxide is linked to cancer (in Europe they have banned it from foods and are banning it from medications beginning in 2025) and doesn’t belong on the food surface of our cookware (especially cookware that has a surface that scratches with use).
You can read more about that here:
https://tamararubin.com/2022/07/a-concern-for-titanium-dioxide-in-paint-on-toys-modern-painted-wooden-toys-may-be-unsafe-for-infants-toddlers-even-if-they-meet-current-safety-guidelines/
Tamara