Warning--another danger to birds

[kozykitty]

A good friend posted on facebook that she lost her dusky conure last night. She's pretty sure that the culprit was a new Pampered Chef pizza stone. Pizza stones are nonstick but they aren't coated in the way teflon pans are. I know I have several pizza stones (not that same brand) but fortunately I haven't used them since getting Gloria. I won't be using the after this. Her poor bird was suddenly not doing well and rushed to the ER where he was put on oxygen but they couldn't help hem. So--one more thing to avoid in the kitchen.

 

[Tami2]

Wow!
I have a lot of pampered chef including the pizza stone.
Although I haven’t used that in years, thank God. However, I do use my baking pans.
No problem with them.

Thank you for sharing. :heart:
So sorry for your friends loss.

 

[noodles123]

That is very sad.

I have a feeling that this came down to burning oil or inert non-stick substances.

Heated oil (be it from frying, roasting a turkey, or burning food) can cause issues. Roasting, frying etc can be dangerous around a bird...Burning butter can be as hazardous as Teflon/PTFE/PFOA.

There is also the possibility that some sort of PTFE/PFOA powder was mixed into the stone (which does happen)...

Thanks for posting--- Teflon/ptfe/pfoa is impossible to detect visually---people often know what they expect to see, but it's amazing what you can't see... Sad.
It can be mixed in during the molding process (with regard to metal), it can be a clear-coat, it can be a mixable powder, it can be a clear-coat.....pretty much everywhere...including the inside of microwave popcorn bags (depending on the brand).

 

[kozykitty]

Also--pizza stones are used at high temps which may involve problems with the oven itself. I make pizza frequently and heat my oven to 450 but I use a plain aluminum pizza pan wiped with olive oil and sprinkled with corn meal. I'm so terrified of using anything other than stainless, cast iron or ceramic. Another fear--we need a new stove and the reviews have all said that the oven smells the first few times it's heated--probably due to packing. Gloria will go upstairs with the pocket doors across the stairs closed, or if it's nice, I'll move her cage to the porch . It's really scary!

 

[kozykitty]

I decided to do a little more research on the pizza stone. Apparently Pampered Chef has traditional pizza stones that are stoneware and they also have a line of cookware called RockCrok which says it's a stone material that can be heated to 700 degrees. It's black and shiny which leads me to believe that something nonstick has been added. There is no info listed as to the exact contents. I may follow up and contact the company to try to find out. I don't plan on purchasing any but it may be helpful to have that info when advising others.

 

[EllenD]

I think the bottom-line to this particular issue is that as bird/parrot owners, we all need to call the manufacturers of pretty much ANY cookware, bakeware, small appliances, etc. BEFORE we use them..Also, I recently made a rule that none of my guys are on the same floor as my kitchen and are all behind closed-doors on that separate floor of my house whenever I'm cooking ANYTHING. Period.

As Noodles wisely stated above, we are all so worried about Teflon and other brands of non-stick coatings that may contain any of the Perfluorinated-Compounds that off-gas and are lethal to our birds that we all, myself included, forget about other types of fumes/smoke that are created and put into the air when we cook anything on the stove, in the oven, in the microwave, and even just in the toaster...It's quite possible to expose your birds to lethal fumes/smoke simply by making some eggs or cooking a chicken-breast in a completely safe pan that is cast-iron, stainless, ceramic, etc. because of the Olive Oil or whatever other type of Oil you coat the pan with and having that Oil burn-off into the air...Or using a completely safe baking pan to broil a steak or pork chops in the oven and having fumes burn-off from the cooking-spray, the oil, butter, etc. that you put on the steak or on the pan...Some seasonings, herbs, spices, sauces, etc. burning-off into the air can not only be lethal to our birds, but they can also cause them severe irritation and swelling throughout their Respiratory Systems, their Lungs, and in their Air-Sacs...

Basically we just have to remind ourselves that ANY type of fumes or smoke coming from basically anything can hurt or kill our birds, or cause them long-time/life-long Respiratory issues. So as much as my 4 larger guys love to sit on their T-Stands in the kitchen/dining room area while I'm cooking breakfast or dinner, it's just not a good idea. A couple of months ago I actually moved all 4 of their T-Stands downstairs from my main floor in the kitchen to the walk-out level of my house where the walk-in Aviary that my Budgies live in, where not only are they on a different floor of the house, but there is ventilation to outside (the door to the garage and my workshop is there, so I can open it up and let it open, along with the window down there)...They are still getting used to it, they have been in the same routine every single morning where I open-up all of their sleeping-cages in my bedroom when I wake-up and they automatically all fly right downstairs to their T-Stands in the kitchen/dining-room area and then wait for me to come down and get them their breakfast...Now their stands are down another floor, so they have to remember to go down there and find their stands, and I have to remember to make sure I leave the door to down there open before I go to bed each night...I don't like doing it this way, I love having them in the kitchen area with me while I cook, but there have just been too many of these incidents where people are losing their birds due to fumes from cooking and from using appliances. It's just not worth it...

 

[WakaWaka]

We are fortunate, we have a kitchen vent fan that actually vents to the outside.
It's possible that others may be fooled by the recirculating type of kitchen fans above the stove. All they do is blow any toxins back into the kitchen. Outside exhaust is an absolute must plus being aware of what you are heating and cooking that could possiblly harm to your flock.

Also opening a door or window on the opposite side of the house / living area, etc. is also just as important.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thanks for this.

Very sad. AND scary.

The first 10 years of the Rb's life were spent in a large family room- kitchen- entry area where cooking fumes regularly filled the area. Add to that the fact I was unaware of the scope of nonstick items and heat in general, and... it's a wonder he made it.

Thanks again.

 

[john8terry]

A good friend posted on facebook that she lost her dusky conure last night. She's pretty sure that the culprit was a new Pampered Chef pizza stone. Pizza stones are nonstick but they aren't coated in the way teflon pans are. I know I have several pizza stones (not that same brand) but fortunately I haven't used them since getting Gloria. I won't be using the after this. Her poor bird was suddenly not doing well and rushed to the ER where he was put on oxygen but they couldn't help hem. So--one more thing to avoid in the kitchen.

Thanks for all of the heads-ups. There is no such thing as being too careful! Here at Chateaux Terry, the kitchen window gets opened and a box fan goes in the window blowing out; stainless steel, of course(!); and Consuela goes in her cage when I am cooking. She thinks that I need her help and expertise. A scorched birdie is 50yrs bad juju! =(

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[dhraiden]

For reference the stone we use is the 'Pizzacraft PC9899'. The manufacturer says its made of the silicate mineral Cordierite. We have used many times to make pizza without any issues. Be forewarned that 7 of the 612 reviews reported a 'chemical smell' and rated the product 1 star.