Nobody wants home-cooked meals with a side of plastic, but according to TikTok doctor Daniel Pompa (@drpompa), that’s exactly what happens when you buy certain air fryers. “What air fryer do I buy and don’t poison my food?” he asked. “That’s a great question because most of them have forever chemicals in the nonstick and even aluminum and even plastic.”
Doctor makes shocking air fryer find at Costco
In Costco, the creator then proceeded to pick out air fryers that “shocked” him. The first one was by Gourmia. Zooming in on the box, he highlights how the fryer claims its nonstick coating is PFOA and BPA-free. He then encountered a second air fryer, a Ninja Foodi, which is also labeled as PFOA-free.
“And why is that even a big issue?” he asked. “Because it’s hormone-disrupting. The plastics are hormone-disrupting; the forever chemicals are hormone-disrupting.”
He continued, “But listen, obviously, there’s quality, and I’m a big lover of Our Place. It’s a brand that I get my nonstick pans from, and they have a stainless steel version through and through that absolutely has been said to be one of the top options.”
Viewers react
While some commenters said they switched to glass and stainless steel air fryers, others disagreed with Dr. Pompa’s recommendation.
“Our Place pans are nonstick,” one claimed. “So even that’s not clean.”
“Our Place still has a coating,” another chimed in.
Meanwhile, a third added, “Our Place pans were such a letdown. Definitely better options out there!”
Dr. Pompa didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.
Our Place and Gourmia didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
Costco and Ninja didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via contact form.
@drpompa Air Fryer Poisoning Your FOOD?! 😱🍕
♬ original sound – Dr. Daniel Pompa
What are PFOAs and BPAs?
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a lab-made chemical that used to be widely used because it doesn’t react to many substances. This makes it helpful in making products that are water-resistant, oil-resistant, and so forth. So, it was used in cooking utensils and protective coverings for products like carpets. However, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), PFOAs are “carcinogenic to humans.”
Similarly, Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical used in the production of plastics like food packaging. Research shows that BPA, in turn, can cause health problems, even if it’s only in so-called “safe” amounts. Healthline reports that BPA also mimics the effects of estrogen, making it a hormone-disrupting chemical because it disrupts the natural order of hormones and can make you sick.
Sometimes, as seen in this TikTok, brands might label their products as being PFOA and BPA-free. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t contain forever chemicals. Research has shown that these products might still contain these chemicals even if they’re advertising otherwise.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
