Is PTFE (Teflon) plastic?
Reading this off a cosmetics label? This page is about PTFE (Teflon) as a material things are made from. For PTFE (Teflon) as an ingredient on an INCI list — what it is doing in the formula and whether it counts as a microplastic ingredient — go to the ingredient page.
The short answer
Yes — PTFE is a plastic, specifically a fluoropolymer, and non-stick particles are microplastics with fluorine attached. An intact coating sheds very little; a damaged one released up to 2.3 million particles in minutes of testing.
Also called: teflon, non-stick coating, is teflon a microplastic, scratched non stick pan
How it behaves
The four conditions that decide whether a material is a problem in practice rather than in principle.
- Heat
- Moderate
Does normal domestic heat degrade it?
- Abrasion
- High
Do scratching, cutting or flexing generate particles?
- Fatty food
- None
Does fat pull additives or particles out of it?
- Acidic food
- None
Do acidic contents attack the surface?
What PTFE (Teflon) actually is
Polytetrafluoroethylene, applied as a thin coating over metal. Chemically it is exceptionally inert, which is the whole point — nothing sticks to it and nothing reacts with it. Inertness is not the same as staying put: the coating is mechanically fragile and is bonded to a substrate that flexes and gets scraped.
Where you find it
What PTFE (Teflon) releases, and when
Directly measured, and the finding is entirely about condition. A single crack in a non-stick coating released around 9,100 fluoropolymer particles; a surface with broken coating released up to 2.3 million during a few minutes of simulated cooking. Nothing in that study suggests an intact, carefully used pan is a significant source — and nothing suggests you should keep a scratched one.
Graded A. This exact product, or an item identical to it, has been measured for particle release in a peer-reviewed study. The number is anchored to a laboratory result rather than to a material. How evidence grades work →
How to tell you're holding it
Any dark, slick coating on a pan sold as "non-stick"
Scratches show as bright metal or a lighter grey through the coating
Air-fryer baskets are coated even where the marketing does not mention it
Switch to
Cast iron
No polymer of any kind. A seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel pan builds its own non-stick surface out of polymerised cooking oil, which is the only non-stick surface in a kitchen that is not a plastic coating.
Stainless steel
No microplastics at all — steel is a metal and cannot shed a polymer. The catch is the parts around it: a steel bottle is only as clean as its lid, and the lid is almost always plastic.
Ceramic and stoneware
Fired, glazed ceramic sheds no polymer. "Ceramic non-stick" cookware is a different thing — a sol-gel silica coating on metal, which is not PTFE and is also not the same as a stoneware dish.
Products we've scored involving PTFE (Teflon)
Each with its own 0–100 exposure score, evidence grade and sources.
PTFE non-stick frying pan
Aluminium or steel with a PTFE (fluoropolymer) coating
Grade A · 86%
Non-stick bakeware
Steel or aluminium with a PTFE or ceramic coating
Grade B · 74%
Air fryer non-stick basket
Metal basket with a PTFE or ceramic non-stick coating
Grade B · 72%
Not sure what yours is made of?
Most products never state the polymer, and a resin code on the base only tells you about the body — not the lid, the liner or the seal. Scan the item and the app identifies the materials in it, then scores them together.
Identify what mine is made ofSources
Luo 2022 (Newcastle) — A single crack in a non-stick coating released around 9,100 fluoropolymer particles, and a surface with broken coating released up to 2.3 million during a few minutes of simulated cooking.
Limitation: A deliberately damaged coating under a controlled scraping protocol, not normal use of an intact pan. It establishes that damaged non-stick is a particle source; it does not tell you the release from a pan you have not scratched.
Yadav 2023 — Chopping on a plastic board generated an estimated 14.5–71.9 million polypropylene microplastics per person per year, and around 79.4 million from a polyethylene board.
Limitation: Controlled chopping by a set protocol, extrapolated to annual figures. Real kitchens vary enormously in board use, knife type and replacement frequency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PTFE (Teflon) a plastic?
Does PTFE (Teflon) release microplastics?
What should I use instead of PTFE (Teflon)?
How do I know if something is made of PTFE (Teflon)?
Related materials
Cast iron
No polymer of any kind. A seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel pan builds its own non-stick surface out of polymerised cooking oil, which is the only non-stick surface in a kitchen that is not a plastic coating.
Stainless steel
No microplastics at all — steel is a metal and cannot shed a polymer. The catch is the parts around it: a steel bottle is only as clean as its lid, and the lid is almost always plastic.
Ceramic and stoneware
Fired, glazed ceramic sheds no polymer. "Ceramic non-stick" cookware is a different thing — a sol-gel silica coating on metal, which is not PTFE and is also not the same as a stoneware dish.
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