Are Grill Mats Toxic? (Fear of Toxic Fumes and Chemicals)

Grill makes our lives much better and more accessible by letting we enjoy delicious and juicy foods. However, the safety concerns regarding the products that arose recently have caused chaos among people. Many are utterly confused with a heap of questions like “are grill mats toxic?”, “is it safe to use grill mats” “why are they said to be toxic” and a lot more.

Are you desperate to come into the light of reality and analyze what’s really going on? We are here to help you.

Let us dig deep into the context and find out everything you need to know about the safety of grill mats.

What are Grill Mats Made Of?

Before we get into the primary point of whether or not grill mats are toxic, it would help us big time if we had a clear scope of the material composition of grill mats.

What are they made of? Grill mats are made of different materials, such as copper, aluminum, ceramic, fiberglass cloth, etc.

However, most of them are coated with polytetrafluoroethylene, which makes them non-stick. Yes, it is the same material used in all other non-stick appliances we use around our home. In layman’s terms, we refer to this complex named material as PTFE.

Non-stick appliances make life extra easy and allow effortless cooking. Nothing sticks in, no hours of scrubbing, easy cooking, and easy cleaning – is there a reason people should not love such products? Exactly, they are reasonably popular among people.

Are Grill Mats Toxic?

It depends on the material composition of the grill mats. Let us elaborate.

The PTFE that is used on grill mats contains an additional catalyst. In the past, the predominant catalyst used with PTFE was a material called PFOA – perfluorooctanoic acid.

PFOA is reportedly claimed and proven to turn toxic under high temperatures. The fumes released under heat are deemed harmful to people, pets, and birds. The consequences were risky. Especially as it came in kitchen appliances. Nobody wants to die.

Since PFOA is so problematic, many manufacturers had to switch to a safer alternative, as there were several petitions and concerns surrounding the issue.

Nowadays, almost all grill mats and even other non-stick kitchen appliances do not contain the PFOA catalyst. They have switched to safer alternative catalysts to rest people assured.

So you have nothing to worry about if you make the right choice with your grill mat.

Grill mats can become toxic if they contain PFOA in their PTFE coating. However, if there is no presence of PFOA, your grill mats are safe and sound.

However, even if your non-stick appliance contains PFOA in its coating, be it grill mats or whatever else, you have nothing to worry about as long as you handle and maintain it carefully.

What are the Health Risks of PFOA?

Consumption of PFOA can lead to a wide range of respiratory diseases and even cancer at worst.

However, it is not that problematic as the PFOA used during the manufacturing will have gone away mostly at the end of production.

So the grill mat sitting in your home will only have a minimal amount of PFOA in it, which isn’t potential to cause complicated diseases to you.

Moreover, you must be exposed to the PFOA fumes for at least four hours to become affected. So there is nothing to overthink.

Nevertheless, stick to PTFE-coated appliances that do not contain PFOA to ensure maximum safety.

As we move further, we will get into how you can be safe regarding handling and using PTFE-coated appliances.

How to Care for Grill Mats?

Use a few tips and tricks to use your grill mats and be on the safe edge, even if they contain a PFOA catalyst.

And even if they do not contain PFOA, you must care about PTFE-coated grill mats with extra love if you want them to last long and keep you sound.

Let us give you some handy tips.

Do not expose the appliance to extremely high temperatures. The fumes it will create can be harmful if it contains PFOA. It would also be best to not heat appliances to high temperatures even if the catalyst is different.
Use only a plastic spatula or wooden spoon for your grill mats. Sometimes people are careless and go for whatever is in the closest proximity to be put into the grill mat. It doesn’t matter how many times you commit the mistake; once or ten times, the results may never return. Never ever use metal and other un-prescribed spoons in your grill mats. They can scratch the appliance and cause the PTFE coat to weaken. It will also expose the inner materials such as the catalysts to the external atmosphere where all your food will be. So metal spoons are a red flag.
Be gentle when it comes to washing. Do not scrub hard and damage the coating. The coat is very thin, so it is easily damaged.
Use a soft sponge when washing. Harsh brushes and metal wool can significantly threaten the PTFE coating and weaken it over time. Do not send your grill mat to the death bed very soon by doing such.
Do not exert too much force on your grill mats. Be gentile throughout the cooking process and exert as less friction as possible.
Use the right cooking techniques, so you do not have to suffer negative consequences.
Be mindful of what you cook in your grill mats as well. Some food types tend to burn and leave very stubborn stains that require heavy cleaning. Grill mats coated with PTFE are not made for heavy cleaning. So be aware of that.
Use tongs for grill mats instead of spoons. It makes your life easy and the life of grill mats long. However, using spoons will also not cause any harm as long as they are not metal.

Watch this one,