Air fryers are increasingly becoming a kitchen necessity: These small convection ovens allow you to cook foods in a manner similar to deep frying, without the heavy oils that deep frying typically requires.
Air fryers are now ubiquitous, so it’s no wonder this simple device has sparked controversy. For example, one air fryer user discovered that theirs contained lead and worried that some of the lead might leach into food and harm their children. Another user claimed that the air fryer they bought at Costco exploded in their kitchen.
Air fryers are often considered healthier than other cooking methods, but one TikTok danger states that people who use air fryers are putting themselves at greater risk than they realize.
Is black plastic toxic?
In a video that had more than 601,000 views as of Saturday, TikTok user Beatrice (@taborplace), who calls herself an “anti-plastic woman,” explains why she thinks black plastic air fryers are dangerous.
“The black plastic is really toxic, it’s probably contaminated with old e-waste,” she began.
“There’s a huge supply and demand problem for black plastic. Next time you go to buy kitchen appliances, you’ll find everything is black plastic,” she continues. “As a result, companies are struggling to keep up with demand…
She said that what different countries are doing — and remember, this isn’t just happening in the U.S., this is happening all over the world — is “illegally commingling” old e-waste, which is all black. “They’re mixing it with plastic that’s going to end up in contact with food,” she said.
This can be dangerous, she says, because e-waste can contain dangerous chemicals that aren’t supposed to be found in food-safe products like air fryers.
“One example is antimony, which is a heavy metal that is neurotoxic and is used in all the processing of polyethylene terephthalate. We’ve found that black plastic also has very high levels of antimony. A lot of black plastic food containers have very high levels of antimony because they’ve been contaminated with recycled e-waste plastic pellets that shouldn’t have it in them,” she says.
In conclusion, she says that while all plastic should be avoided in general, she advises avoiding black plastic in particular, given your potential exposure to these chemicals.
Is what she’s saying true?
Firstly, is e-waste really being recycled into black plastic?
One 2018 Survey It turns out that black plastic actually contains e-waste.
“There is growing evidence that demand for black plastics in consumer products is partly met by sourcing materials from the plastic housings of used electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE),” writes study author Andrew Turner. “WEEE plastics that are not efficiently sorted can introduce restricted and hazardous substances into recycled materials, including brominated flame retardants (BFRs), the flame retardant synergist antimony, and the heavy metals cadmium, chromium, mercury, and lead.”
a 2023 Survey While the black plastic was found to contain e-waste, the potential dangers of the practice have not yet been proven and research indicates further testing is needed.
“Only a few studies showed a clear association between the presence of chemicals and human health risks; results were inconclusive: most products had concentrations below the concentration limits, but a non-negligible number of products significantly exceeded the concentration limits,” the study said. While the study suggests there may be danger here, it said, “further evidence is needed to close the gap between the presence of recycled chemicals and human health.”
As Beatrice noted, these new black plastics have been found to contain antimony, but it’s unclear whether the black plastics used on the outside of appliances like air fryers actually contaminate the food cooked in the inner chambers, which aren’t made of black plastic.
@taborplace Reply to @Alexis Black plastic contains a ton of toxic chemicals 🫣😱 There are some great air fryer options that don’t use it 😊😊😊😊 #BlackPlastic #Air fryer #Toxic Chemicals #Antimony ♬ Original Sound – Tabor Place
In the comments section, some users shared their own experiences with black plastic, while others pointed out the need for regulation in this area.
“What is the purpose of government agencies if they’re not doing their jobs!” one user exclaimed.
“I tried to buy a coffee pot without the black plastic basket but couldn’t. I bought the all metal one. With the black plastic basket,” another said.
“When I first bought my air fryer the instructions said to heat it first but it filled the whole house with a nasty plastic smell!! I turned it off and never used it again,” a third said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Beatrice via email.
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