Are Air Fryer Liners Safe? Paper, Silicone and Foil Checked

What are air fryer liners made of?

There are three kinds, and they raise different questions. We read what the makers of the best-known ones say on their own pages and listings:

Retrieved 23 September 2026. Cosori sells branded liners, but its page lists no material or temperature.

So “paper liners are silicone-coated” is true for some brands, not all. If You Care, which makes parchment but not air fryer liners, says its paper has “a fine misting of food safe and non-toxic silicone”. The one wax-coated liner we found is rated lower, at 400 °F, than the silicone-coated ones. When a box names no coating, you can’t tell which you have.

Do paper air fryer liners have PFAS?

Probably not, but no one has checked an air fryer liner directly. Grease-resistant paper used to be treated with PFAS, the “forever chemicals”. In a 2017 study of US fast-food packaging, 46% of food-contact papers had detectable fluorine. In February 2024 the FDA announced that PFAS grease-proofing substances “are no longer being sold by manufacturers into the U.S. market” for food-contact paper, and in January 2025 it declared the related authorisations no longer effective.

The closest thing to a test is parchment. Mamavation, a consumer blog that publishes its lab reports, had parchment rolls and sheets tested for total fluorine in 2021. If You Care and Katbite parchment were non-detect. Reynolds measured 14 ppm and Kirkland 12 ppm, low levels that don’t show whether PFAS was deliberately added. Those were baking papers, not liners. For more, see does parchment paper have plastic?

If PFAS is your main worry, choose a brand that states its coating and publishes a PFAS result, or skip paper altogether.

Are silicone air fryer liners safe?

They are the only liner with product-specific research, and it came out this month. Researchers at the University of Panama and the University of Zaragoza bought ten silicone moulds sold for air fryers in Panama and published a full chemical analysis in Polymers on 3 September 2026. They identified 128 substances, including siloxanes and substances nobody added on purpose.

So the headline results come from the harshest test, on brand-new moulds. The finding that holds up in every test: new silicone releases the most, and it drops with use and heat. German guidance says silicone for food use should release no more than 0.5% volatiles, and heat treatment (“tempering”) after moulding lowers them. None of the ten moulds met that limit, which suggests, though the study didn’t test this, that they hadn’t been fully tempered. The authors also note that the labels were no guide to which moulds performed worst.

Older studies agree. In 2010, German researchers found untempered silicone moulds with 1.1% volatiles released considerably more than tempered ones, with up to 177 mg/kg migrating into a meat loaf. A 2012 follow-up used moulds up to about 1,700 times, and siloxane migration fell below the detection limit with no new siloxanes forming. A 2026 Chinese study of 30 silicone food-contact items flagged total cyclic siloxanes above a proposed action limit for children in most samples.

Is silicone a microplastic?

Silicone is a synthetic polymer, but it isn’t a carbon-chain plastic like polyethylene, and the research on it is about chemicals leaching out, not particles breaking off. We found no study measuring silicone particles shed from a food-contact item into food. A 2023 study found a kitchen silicone sealant releasing micro- and nanoplastics, but that’s a different product. See is silicone a microplastic? The practical concern with liners is siloxanes and additives, not particles.

Do air fryer makers allow liners?

They disagree, and the reason is fire and airflow, not chemistry. The fan that makes an air fryer work can lift loose paper into the heating element.

Check your own manual before using any liner, and never run one in an empty basket, including during preheating. Also check the liner’s heat limit against your fryer. Reynolds and Smartake stop at 400 °F, and many fryers go higher.

Do air fryer liners protect a nonstick basket?

That’s a common reason to buy them, but we couldn’t find any maker or study that says so. A liner keeps food off the basket, so it may reduce scrubbing, and scrubbing is what wears nonstick. That is plausible, not measured. Many baskets are PTFE-coated, and some older models were PTFE even when newer ones of the same name aren’t. Our non-toxic air fryer audit traces basket coatings model by model from the makers’ own filings. If your basket is uncoated stainless, a liner adds material without solving anything.

Are foil liners better than paper?

Foil avoids coatings and PFAS entirely, but it’s the liner makers are most cautious about. Instant says not to cover the basket with foil at all because it causes overheating, Philips advises against it, and Cosori allows foil in the basket but not over the crisper plate. If you use foil, keep it under the food, don’t cover the holes, and don’t let it reach the element.

What’s the safest way to line an air fryer?

1. Use no liner if you can. A stainless steel rack or a quick wash of the basket avoids the question. It’s the only option with nothing to test.
2. If you use paper, pick a brand that names its coating, prefer silicone over wax for higher heat, and stay under its temperature limit. Put food on it before the fan starts.
3. If you use silicone, break it in. Wash it, then heat it empty in the oven before its first use with food. That is when it releases the most.
4. Replace silicone that’s cracked, tacky or still smells after washing, rather than keep cooking in it.
5. If the basket is the worry, fix the basket. A liner doesn’t turn a worn PTFE basket into a safe one. See do air fryers release microplastics?