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Are old aluminum pans safe? Is one of the most frequently asked questions under the topic? Below we have tried to answer this question, keeping its different aspects in view. The decision will be yours.
Aluminium cookware is known as the most durable and gift-worthy product around the word. In some regions, it is about the tradition to gift the aluminium cookware of different kinds at wedding occasions.
In the cookware industry, aluminium made products enjoy a considerable market share and own a significant revenue size. With everyday evolution to science and information, the newer questions are being asked in every field, answering which is a must.
Is it bad to use old aluminium cookware?
Excess of everything is bad. It is a universal rule. Same way, everything has a life. Same goes with the aluminum cookware. Several big names in the cookware industry offer a variety of aluminium utensils. These big brands concern about the health of their consumers.
They offer BPA free and hard anodized materials with non-stick multilayer coatings to make their cookware safer for cooking purpose.
Over time their safety layers become thin and weak. You can calculate what has happened to your old utensil during previous usage years. What changes have been made since you first used it? In other words, your food is open to a risk of external elements being added therein. The information below will offer you a more details overview about an old aluminum cookware danger.
Common Problems With Old Aluminum Cookware
While discussing that, either old aluminium cookware are safe or not, it is essential to have a look at what are the aluminum cookware dangers. Either if it is gifted to you from your loving grandma, but if it harms your health, you should better use it for decoration purpose instead of cooking.
The most important thing to know about aluminum pans is that their safe cooking surface gradually becomes thinner to none, because of repeated heat introduction and cooling as well.
There are six European countries, who have banned the aluminium cookware within their jurisdiction. The fact compels to ponder about the reasons why these countries have decided so. To know the answer, we should have looked over the possible aluminum pan dangers.
The following points will give us an idea about what threats an aluminum pan can cause.
1. Overheating
One line precaution about aluminium cookware is that they are never safe for high hight usage. aluminum is a soft metal by nature. Its cooking surface disappears with time because of repeated heating and cooling.
Overheating the empty aluminium pans, especially when they are already old, can turn them into molten aluminum . Burn or fire ignition can be caused at this boil dry state. The tensile characteristics of aluminium make it unsafe for food purpose. It further reduces the safe life of aluminium utensil.
2. Leaching
Excessive use over the years causes abrasion on the utensil’s surface, which can add a toxic effect to your food, because of the presence of other metals therein. However, the aluminium is known as a non-toxic one itself.
Tomatoes, lemons or other acidic foods turn the aluminium into soluble, which may be mixed into your food while cooking. Utensils with a Teflon surface, such as non-stick coated ones are safe up to a specific life span. This coating restrains the aluminum reaction to the acidic foods.
Leaving aluminium exposed to the air creates a thin but strong layer of aluminum oxide on the surface. It forms a blockade between aluminium and air and prevents the metal from oxidation. The process is called passivation. The metal is further passed through an electrochemical process. Resultantly, the layer becomes thicker and non-reactive. As a whole, the process is named as anodization. Anodized cookware is more durable and safe for cooking purpose being non-reactive to acidic foods.
3. Health Concerns
Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry warns that the respiratory issues and neurological problems are the elder children of high aluminum level in the human body. The threat enhances when the cookware is old.
Similarly, old aluminium pan dangers the human body a lot for Alzheimer’s disease. Michigan state university after research described that aluminum toxicity plays an inconclusive role in Alzheimer’s disease.
D.R. McLachlan referred a more transparent version in this regard in a study conducted by him along with his other colleagues. They found a relationship between the aluminium level in drinking water and diagnosed Alzheimer’s Disease cases.
Are Old Aluminum Pans Safe To Use ?
I am sure that the discussion made above have cleared your mind a lot about the question. There are specific points derived we can ponder about, before deciding whether using old aluminium pans is safe or not. How old is your pan? How much is it scratched?
How often do you use it? How much heat does it face while you cook? Being not a scientist, we can not precisely calculate the safety or risk level about our pan. Though keeping these questions in view, we can guess concerning the possible aluminium pan dangers in our mind.
Conclusion
By this moment, if someone asks me about, are old aluminum pans safe? I shall answer it as a “NO”. As after making all the research and going through the facts as mentioned above, the balance of convenience tilts down on the negative side. However, your heart and mind is the best judge for your pans and cookware. Maybe your utensils are not used roughly and have their safety surface intact.
Maybe you have not ever exposed your pan to a high temperature, etc. Of course, using cookware once in a fortnight causes lesser threat as compared to daily use. Collectively saying, the risks do exist when you use old aluminium cookware which is medically and scientifically proven but exceptions depend on your usage and the life of your cookware.
