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French NGOs Sue Tefal Over Deceptive Safety Claims on Nonstick Pans

The suit alleges Tefal marketed its PTFE-based coatings as harmless without disclosing pollutant emissions or potential health hazards

Des poêles en vente dans un magasin à Paris, le 11 mai 2023
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«Tefal argue toujours que ses revêtements ne contiennent pas de PFOA, remarque Anne Roques, juriste. Mais cette substance est tellement dangereuse qu’elle a été interdite à la commercialisation en 2020 par l’Union européenne !»
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Overview

  • France Nature Environnement, Générations Futures and the ACLC filed the complaint on July 9 at the Paris prosecutor’s office targeting Tefal’s 2024 advertising campaign and website statements.
  • The NGOs contend Tefal’s ads touted safe PTFE content and the absence of PFOA while omitting known environmental releases during product use.
  • The complaint draws on a November 2023 South Korean study linking PTFE microparticles to health effects such as inflammation.
  • It also cites the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s 2024 conclusion of insufficient data to classify PTFE’s carcinogenicity.
  • France’s 2025 PFAS law tightened controls on 'eternal pollutants' but maintains an exclusion for kitchenware, a carve-out that underpins Tefal’s compliance argument.