Is Silicone Cookware Safe?

A Nutrition Diva listener writes:

Non-stick silicone cookware, especially for baking, seems really useful. But is it safe? Also, I would like to stop using my plastic steamer that I rely on for steaming vegetables in the microwave. What type of container do you suggest?

What is silicone made from?

Silicone is a type of synthetic rubber made from silicon, a naturally occurring element that’s abundant in rock and sand. Silicon (or silica) is used to make mortar, glass, cement, bricks, and concrete.

Silicon is also used as a semiconductor in computers and cellphones. That's why the Santa Clara Valley, near San Francisco, California, is often referred to as Silicon Valley.

Silicone is not exactly new to kitchens; your grandmother probably used silicone-based rubber spatulas.

Silicon can also be modified or polymerized into a rubbery material called silicone. Silicone is not exactly new to kitchens; your grandmother probably used silicone-based rubber spatulas. But more recently it’s been used to make nonstick cake and muffin pans, baking mats or liners, and a whole range of other cooking gear.

Silicone cookware has several advantages. It’s lightweight, flexible, easy to clean, stain-resistant, and nothing sticks to it. You can put it in the freezer, dishwasher, microwave, or oven. And it comes in all kinds of fun bright colors. But is it too good to be true?

Is Silicone another Teflon?

Many of you have written to me lately about the movie Dark Waters, a legal thriller in the tradition of Erin Brockovich. It tells the story of PFOA, a chemical originally used in Teflon, the nonstick coating created by the chemical company Dupont in the 1940s and widely used in nonstick cookware. 

It was eventually revealed that this supposedly safe compound can accumulate in the tissues of humans and other animals and potentially lead to serious health problems. PFOA was implicated in multiple cases of cancer and other serious health problems. Dupont eventually settled a class-action suit for $671 million.

PFOA is no longer used in Teflon. And it’s important to note that the health problems attributed to PFOA were not linked to the use of nonstick cookware.

PFOA is no longer used in Teflon. And it’s important to note that the health problems attributed to PFOA were not linked to the use of nonstick cookware. Rather, it was due to industrial dumping of this chemical into landfills and water supplies, which exposed local residents to large amounts of the chemical.

Even though PFOA is no longer used in the US, it persists in the environment. And in human tissues. And it’s been replaced by similar chemicals that some fear...

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