Health and Safety in the Kitchen

A reader writes The Green Guide:

I am working in health with cancer and neurology patients where solvent exposure, length as well as temperature of cooking and other environmental health issues as well as type and quality of food are important. These patients are tired and forgetful so an automatic rice cooker or a La Creuset pot that heats slowly and holds heat are great products. I liked VISIONS glass cookware but it is out of production and I find that neurologically disabled patients often drop glass products and with lost sensation can step on glass without noticing and cut themselves. I am becoming very interested in cooking ware and kitchen products.

What electric kettle currently on the market is the healthiest choice for the human body and our environment? Rice cookers so far either have metal or nonstick on aluminum—is there a better way to cook rice automatically?

La Creuset cookware holds heat well so less cooking energy is required but does it have a safer inside finish?

Lots of questions here on optimizing a kitchen for healthier choices. Can you help me out? Please include children as well as adults in your ideas.

Frances Tinker, MD

The Green Guide Responds:

We are flattered that you would consider asking us for help with these important questions and are pleased to see you've already had success with some products such as Le Creuset The Green Guide has recommended previously.

Kettles and Cookers

While electric kettles and automatic rice cookers utilize less energy than their stove-top equivalents, there are still choices to be made for safety with these items as well. Rice cookers often have bowls made of aluminum (to be avoided because of its extraction consumes great amounts electricity) or with a non-stick coating (see below), so look for rice cookers with stainless steel or silicone steaming bowls. With electric kettles it is important to find products which do not have an exposed heating element made of nickel or nickel alloys, chronic exposure to which can cause skin sensitization and dermatitis. In some cases, nickel heating elements have been known to leach excess nickel into water. Instead, choose kettles which separate the heating element from the water inside, such as the Chef's Choice cordless electric kettle with a stainless steel floor. Or choose kettles that use a stainless steel direct-exposure heating element such as Bodum's mini Ibis. The benefit of a direct exposure heating element means that the pot boils more quickly, and uses less energy. However, pots that separate the water from heating element are less likely to develop mineral build-up on the element. For maximum safety with any kettle, use distilled or purified water rather than regular tap water.

Pots, Pans and Grippers

Concern over Teflon coating in non-stick cookware is nothing new for consumers and for good reason: When Teflon pans are heated above 680 degrees, toxins are released, including the animal carcinogens tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) which has been linked to human birth defects. But there are several good alternatives. Cast iron pans actually develop a naturally non-stick surface with proper care (this includes "seasoning" or coating with peanut oil then baking for 20 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit), and they can be heated to high temperatures without adverse effects. Another advantage to cast iron is that since the pans hold heat very well that means more energy conservation. Cast iron pans may leach some traces of the mineral iron (though as a nutrient it is not as absorbable as iron from meat), but they won't release toxins into the air or into food. Stainless steel pans are also a good alternative, although less non-stick in nature. Cook's Illustrated magazine recommended All-Clad stainless steel sauté pans as a top choice, even above equivalent Teflon pans. Some hybrid cookware, such as "Le Creuset" makes use of ceramic or enamel coating over an iron or steel base. These pots and pans have the benefit of working effectively with lower burner temperatures, by efficiently holding heat, and their surfaces are durable and non-stick. Excluding some slow-cooking crock-pots, the enamel coatings don't contain lead. In the mid 70's there was some concern over cadmium content in imported enameled cookware, but this cookware has been discontinued, internationally, and enameled steel and iron pans available on the market today make an efficient and safe choice for the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the weight of enameled iron and traditional cast iron cookware may make them unwieldy for seniors, or the infirmed. Fortunately seniors facing decreased mobility or strength can find a wide variety of gadgets on the market to facilitate the cooking process, including automatic jar openers, such as Black and Decker's "Lids Off", automatic food choppers with safety lock lids, or an easy grip spatula which doubles as a flipper and tongs. For arthritis sufferers, there are 2-liter bottle holders, which fit over bottle tops to make heavy bottles easier to hold and pour. Kitchen tools with ergonomic silicone grips, such as those made by KitchenAid, are easier to hold and less likely to melt or scorch than tools made with plastic. Concern over fire deaths among the elderly has led the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide some requirements for electrical ranges for elderly housing, including indicator lights for burners and control buttons that don't require reaching across the cooking surface. HUD also recommends ovens with side-hinge doors, which are easier to open than bottom-hinge doors for people with limited reach, or who are in wheel chairs.

Resources:

Le Creuset 10" enameled cast iron skillet, $83.95 and All-Clad 10" stainless-steel frypan with aluminum cores, $84.95, both at www.broadwaypanhandler.com; 866-COOKWARE

Chef's Choice cordless electric kettle, $39.99 at www.chefscatalog.com

Bodum mini Ibis electric kettle, $19.95 www.bodumusa.com/shop/

"Top Ten Arthritis-Friendly Kitchen Gadgets/Tools" arthritis.about.com/od/inthekitchen/tp/kitchentools.htm