"PFOA-free" is not "PFAS-free"

Last reviewed July 2026.

Three letters of difference, and almost the entire cookware-marketing playbook lives inside it. Under the EPA's voluntary PFOA Stewardship Program the 8 participating companies phased out US production and import of PFOA by 2015 — EPA notes that non-participants may still produce or import it. So “PFOA-free” is cheap to say and narrow in meaning: PFOA is one member of the PFAS family, and PTFE is another. PFAS-free is the claim worth reading.

The one-paragraph chemistry

PFAS is the family: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, thousands of fluorinated compounds, the ones called "forever chemicals". PTFE — polytetrafluoroethylene, the classic nonstick coating you know as Teflon — is a member of that family. PFOA is a different member: a processing aid that was used to manufacture PTFE coatings, linked to health harms, and phased out of US production under the EPA's 2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program — completed around 2015 (EPA program page).

Why "PFOA-free" tells you nothing

Because the major fluoropolymer makers phased PFOA out a decade ago, mainstream PTFE cookware is generally made without it — so brands print it on the box. EPA's phaseout covers the 8 companies that joined its voluntary Stewardship Program, and EPA notes quantities of PFOA may still be produced, imported and used by non-participants, so the claim is not a guarantee about any particular pan either. A PTFE pan marked "PFOA-free" is still a pan coated in a PFAS. If what you wanted to know is "does this pan have forever chemicals on it", the claim that answers it is PTFE-free / PFAS-free, not PFOA-free.

The gap has a price tag: $2.5M

HexClad marketed its hybrid pans as "non-toxic" and "PFAS-free" while the nonstick layer was PTFE. A California class action followed, and HexClad settled for $2.5M and agreed to stop using "PFAS-free" on PTFE-coated products (settlements are not admissions of wrongdoing). We walk through the court record here.

And sometimes even "PFOA-free" fails the lab

Consumer Reports tested cookware for 96 PFAS compounds in 2022. In a Swiss Diamond pan sold with a PFOA-free claim, CR detected 16 of the 96 — including PFOA itself, averaging about 4 ppb in the coating (Consumer Reports, Oct 2022). The same screen found zero of the 96 PFAS in two ceramic-coated pans (Our Place's Always Pan and the as-seen-on-TV Red Copper). The lesson isn't "ceramic good, PTFE bad" — it's that the label is a claim, and only a published test is proof.

How to read a nonstick box in 10 seconds

• "PFOA-free" only → assume PTFE. True of the claim, silent about the family.
• "PTFE-free" / "PFAS-free" → a real claim — now ask who published the test that backs it. Our table tracks exactly that, brand by brand.
• Bare metal (cast iron, carbon steel, stainless) → no coating, no claim needed. The material is the proof.

Common questions

Is PFOA-free the same as PFAS-free?
No. PFAS is the family — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — and PFOA is one member of it. PTFE, the classic nonstick coating sold as Teflon, is another. Under the EPA's voluntary PFOA Stewardship Program the 8 participating companies phased out US production and import of PFOA by 2015, and EPA notes quantities may still be produced, imported and used by non-participants. So “PFOA-free” is narrow: a PTFE pan marked PFOA-free is still a pan coated in a PFAS.

What claim should I look for instead of “PFOA-free”?
“PTFE-free” or “PFAS-free”. Those are the claims that answer whether the pan has fluoropolymer coating on it — and then the question becomes who published the test that backs the claim. Bare metal (cast iron, carbon steel, stainless) carries no coating and needs no claim: the material is the proof.

Can a pan labelled PFOA-free still contain PFOA?
It has happened. Consumer Reports tested cookware for 96 PFAS compounds in 2022 and detected 16 of the 96 in a Swiss Diamond pan sold with a PFOA-free claim — including PFOA itself, averaging about 4 ppb in the coating. The same screen found zero of the 96 in two ceramic-coated pans. The label is a claim; only a published test is proof.

What did the HexClad PFAS-free case cost?
HexClad marketed its hybrid pans as “non-toxic” and “PFAS-free” while the nonstick layer was PTFE. A California class action followed and HexClad settled for $2.5M, agreeing to stop using “PFAS-free” on PTFE-coated products. A settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.

Check your brand's claim against its published proof →

We do not test cookware — we index published third-party results and public records, with attribution, and make no health claims. This page describes labelling claims, not the safety of any product.