IndySE
Active member
I wanted to share this tidbit of information I acquired today at - funny enough - work of all places.
The kind of work I do essentially requires me to know a lot about bad chemicals, where the bad chemicals tend to be, and how do we get the bad chemicals out. We mention different substances in meetings and today we came to the topic of PTFE - which is the chemical name for the common trade name teflon. They even specifically mentioned the anecdotal stories about bird-death associated with it.
Teflon is commonly attributed as a big no-go for parrot owners, but is something we take for more word of mouth. I've heard some weird explanations about the coating getting scratched and fluorines flying off into the air - but it never made any sense to me as a valid chemical pathway.
What is actually happening is that PTFE, if set at the wrong temp or for too long, is burning. And burning plastic releases carbon monoxide fumes, which of course is toxic to birds. Most cooking uses will "probably" not burn the plastic (it needs to be 500 F which is higher than most cooking temps) - HOWEVER given that no one is cooking with a temperature probe on their cooking surface, it makes sense why parrot-owners take the conservative route when the cost of misjudgment is so high.
Another funny thing about PTFE - is it's used EVERYWHERE and not harmful at all if away from a heat source. It's fairly inert. It's even used in medical implants. It's simply how it is used that is problematic for our avian friends. Technically the same issue would exist in any plastics where the temperature is near to its burning temperature.
Anyways passing along the science-side for anyone who doesn't know or is simply curious
The kind of work I do essentially requires me to know a lot about bad chemicals, where the bad chemicals tend to be, and how do we get the bad chemicals out. We mention different substances in meetings and today we came to the topic of PTFE - which is the chemical name for the common trade name teflon. They even specifically mentioned the anecdotal stories about bird-death associated with it.
Teflon is commonly attributed as a big no-go for parrot owners, but is something we take for more word of mouth. I've heard some weird explanations about the coating getting scratched and fluorines flying off into the air - but it never made any sense to me as a valid chemical pathway.
What is actually happening is that PTFE, if set at the wrong temp or for too long, is burning. And burning plastic releases carbon monoxide fumes, which of course is toxic to birds. Most cooking uses will "probably" not burn the plastic (it needs to be 500 F which is higher than most cooking temps) - HOWEVER given that no one is cooking with a temperature probe on their cooking surface, it makes sense why parrot-owners take the conservative route when the cost of misjudgment is so high.
Another funny thing about PTFE - is it's used EVERYWHERE and not harmful at all if away from a heat source. It's fairly inert. It's even used in medical implants. It's simply how it is used that is problematic for our avian friends. Technically the same issue would exist in any plastics where the temperature is near to its burning temperature.
Anyways passing along the science-side for anyone who doesn't know or is simply curious
