Is leaving a Teflon rice cooker on overnight dangerous?
I own a cheap Rival brand rice cooker. Here is a link to the product page. Note that there is an inner removable bowl where the rice is cooked. This bowl is coated in Teflon.
After cooking rice last night, I forgot to turn the cooker off, although it automatically switches to a 'warm' setting after the rice is done. (The two settings can be seen in the product page linked above.) I forgot to unplug the cooker, and it remained on overnight (8-9 hours) in a small, poorly ventilated apartment. Should I be worried at all about possible Teflon fumes? The bowl was only mildly warm when I found it in the morning, and there was no evidence of burning. I was under the impression that Teflon is only dangerous at very high temperatures, but I wanted to be sure.
More generally, suppose I want to start making rice at lunchtime so that I have warm rice ready for me when I come home. Is it safe to leave the cooker on for this period of time?
Best Answer
There is no risk to the Teflon itself, or from it; PTFE breaks down at about 500 F, which rice cookers will not achieve, especially on warming setting. Other than that, PTFE is one of the most inert substances known to man, as the atoms are already bound in energetically very favorable bonds: little is as able to displace them without significant input energy (thus the high breakdown temperature).
On the other hand, you should not hold rice for a long time without either refrigerating it, or having it above 140 F (60 C) as there is some risk of Bacillus cereus growing and causing food borne illness.
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Quick Answer about "Is leaving a Teflon rice cooker on overnight dangerous?"
2 Answers. Show activity on this post. There is no risk to the Teflon itself, or from it; PTFE breaks down at about 500 F, which rice cookers will not achieve, especially on warming setting.Is it safe to leave rice cooker on overnight?
Can you leave rice in a rice cooker overnight? Technically, yes, you may leave rice in the cooker overnight; however, this is not recommended. If it is left out overnight, the color will start to change, and it will lose its taste. Both are a sign that bacteria are forming.What happens if you leave your rice cooker on?
Nonetheless, we do not recommend leaving the rice cooker on all day or overnight. Although the appliance will remain intact, the quality of the contents may be compromised. Rice is prone to deterioration when you leave it out for more than a few hours. It can cause food poisoning and is unsafe for consumption.Is Teflon rice cooker safe?
But studies from the CDC have shown that high temperatures can transform PTFE into toxic Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which can be harmful if ingested. So, if you're looking for a rice cooker, but want to avoid Teflon, you've come to the right place.Do rice cookers turn off automatically?
The appliance has a thermostat that can detect when the temperature rises above 212 degrees F in the container, and it turns itself off.Does domestic rice cooker keep rice in temperature safe zone?
More answers regarding is leaving a Teflon rice cooker on overnight dangerous?
Answer 2
If your rice cooker has a warm setting then it is designed to be left on after cooking the rice. You can leave your rice in the bowl for days on warm and your teflon will be fine.
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