PTFE/Teflon Overheated Cookware and Bird Toxicity (Polytetrafluoroethylene Fume Fever, Avian Respiratory Failure, Polymer Fume Fever) — pet safety profile
High riskPolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, brand name Teflon) nonstick cookware releases toxic particulate and gaseous fluoropolymer decomposition products when heated above 260C (500F) — a temperature easily reached on a stovetop set to high or during accidental dry-heating.
What is this product?
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, brand name Teflon) nonstick cookware releases toxic particulate and gaseous fluoropolymer decomposition products when heated above 260C (500F) — a temperature easily reached on a stovetop set to high or during accidental dry-heating. These fumes are rapidly lethal to birds: avian respiratory anatomy (air sacs, unidirectional airflow, thin gas exchange membranes) makes birds 100-1000x more sensitive than mammals to inhaled toxins. A single episode of overheating a PTFE pan in a kitchen with a pet bird can cause acute hemorrhagic pulmonary edema and death within minutes to hours. In humans, the same fumes cause 'polymer fume fever' — flu-like symptoms that resolve in 24-48 hours. Bird deaths from overheated PTFE cookware are reported to avian veterinarians regularly, yet most bird owners are unaware of the hazard. Self-cleaning oven cycles (which reach 480C/900F) are equally dangerous.
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Decomposition Product Class
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