Hi everyone,
It’s BBQ season and I’d like you all to weigh in on the health safety of cooking on various grilling surfaces and their contaminants for choosing the right BBQ.
There are basically three grilling surfaces: cast iron, enamel, and stainless steel.
Cast Iron
I suppose cast iron is free of chemical contaminants but it can leach iron, contributing to iron overload which Peat warns about: Are cast iron pans unsafe?
Cooking a hamburger in a cast iron pan increase iron from 2mg to 2.2mg. On a grill that should be less due to less surface area and dripping of juices. However for an acidic substance such as pasta sauce it increase from 0.69mg to 5.77mg in a pan. This means an acidic marinade on meat in a bbq can significantly increase iron contamination.
Another concern with cast iron grills is the need to “season” them to protect from rust by regularly coating then in PUFAs and oxidizing them at high temp . Thoughts?
Coated enamel grills
I see these a lot on cheap grills and view them with suspicion. What is this coating and how was it coated? Are there any mfgers that proudly proclaim their coatings to be free of contaminants or toxic chemicals like some nonstick cookware mfgers are doing?
A study by German authorities found many enamel bbq coatings to give off “unacceptable” levels of arsenic and cadmium into food. BBQ Enamelled Grills Can Release Unsafe Amounts of Heavy Metals into Food
If someone could get a hold of the actual study and/or find which manufacturers can be trusted that would be great!
Stainless steel
Last but not least there’s stainless steel. Again the quality is often a mystery to the consumer. The presence of nickel and other metals pose allergies though I don’t find this to be a problem with modern cookware.
Aluminum
Although no grill surface that I know of is made of aluminum metal, some cheaper barbecues have the case made of cast aluminum which is a better heat insulator than steel. However the question is how much aluminum if any gets vaporized by the heat in BBQ or migrates into the food? I know when I take a blowtorch to aluminum it tends to vaporize, presumably as oxide which dissipates into the air.
Please if you have any thoughts, evidence, or recommendations do share!
It’s BBQ season and I’d like you all to weigh in on the health safety of cooking on various grilling surfaces and their contaminants for choosing the right BBQ.
There are basically three grilling surfaces: cast iron, enamel, and stainless steel.
Cast Iron
I suppose cast iron is free of chemical contaminants but it can leach iron, contributing to iron overload which Peat warns about: Are cast iron pans unsafe?
Cooking a hamburger in a cast iron pan increase iron from 2mg to 2.2mg. On a grill that should be less due to less surface area and dripping of juices. However for an acidic substance such as pasta sauce it increase from 0.69mg to 5.77mg in a pan. This means an acidic marinade on meat in a bbq can significantly increase iron contamination.
Another concern with cast iron grills is the need to “season” them to protect from rust by regularly coating then in PUFAs and oxidizing them at high temp . Thoughts?
Coated enamel grills
I see these a lot on cheap grills and view them with suspicion. What is this coating and how was it coated? Are there any mfgers that proudly proclaim their coatings to be free of contaminants or toxic chemicals like some nonstick cookware mfgers are doing?
A study by German authorities found many enamel bbq coatings to give off “unacceptable” levels of arsenic and cadmium into food. BBQ Enamelled Grills Can Release Unsafe Amounts of Heavy Metals into Food
If someone could get a hold of the actual study and/or find which manufacturers can be trusted that would be great!
Stainless steel
Last but not least there’s stainless steel. Again the quality is often a mystery to the consumer. The presence of nickel and other metals pose allergies though I don’t find this to be a problem with modern cookware.
Aluminum
Although no grill surface that I know of is made of aluminum metal, some cheaper barbecues have the case made of cast aluminum which is a better heat insulator than steel. However the question is how much aluminum if any gets vaporized by the heat in BBQ or migrates into the food? I know when I take a blowtorch to aluminum it tends to vaporize, presumably as oxide which dissipates into the air.
Please if you have any thoughts, evidence, or recommendations do share!
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