Fluoropolymer (PTFE, Teflon coating)
PTFE / resin identification code 7（塗膜は対象外）
Fluoropolymer coating on frying pans. Particles from scratched pans. PFOA is banned from manufacture and use in Japan.
Main uses
- Fluoropolymer coating on frying pans and pots
- Coatings on cookware
Found in food, water and the human body
- A cooking-simulation test of scratched fluoropolymer-coated pans estimated “thousands to millions” of particles (Luo et al. 2022; a wide-ranging estimate)
- Not among the targets measured in the main human-body studies
Evaluations of raw materials and additives
- PTFE itself is IARC Group 3. The raw material tetrafluoroethylene is Group 2A
- PFOA, once used in manufacturing, is IARC Group 1 (evaluated in 2023)
- FSCJ (June 2024): TDI for PFOS and PFOA is 20 ng per kg of body weight per day each
IARC classifications rate the strength of evidence that something can cause cancer, not the size of the risk at everyday amounts.
Japan's standards (utensils, containers and packaging that touch food)
- PFOA is a Class I Specified Chemical Substance under the Chemical Substances Control Law (in force October 22, 2021). Under MHLW Notification No. 370, Class I Specified Chemical Substances may not be used as raw materials of utensils, containers and packaging
- MHLW Notification No. 370 has no individual standard for fluoropolymers
General standards for all synthetic resins: cadmium and lead in the material 100 μg/g or less each, heavy metals migrating (as lead) 1 μg/mL or less, and others. Since June 2020, synthetic resins that touch food have been under a “positive list system” that sets which substances may be used (the transition period ended May 31, 2025). → Rules and regulation
Production in Japan
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoropolymers (including types other than PTFE) | 37,274 t | 28,895 t | 29,670 t |
Compiled by the Japan Plastics Industry Federation (based on METI's production statistics). This is the amount made in Japan, not the amount used in Japan.
Sources
- Luo Y, et al. Sci Total Environ 2022;851:158293 (PMID 36030853)
- Ministry of the Environment: designation of PFOA as a Class I Specified Chemical Substance
- Consumer Affairs Agency, standards for utensils, containers and packaging (Notification No. 370, Part 3) (Japanese)
- IARC List of Classifications
- Japan Plastics Industry Federation, statistics (Japanese)
Last checked 2026-10-01. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.