GreenPan Lawsuits Explained

This is an overview of the GreenPan class action lawsuit as well as independent testing results showing what is really in the coating.

This article was reviewed by Marty Burbank a lawyer at OC Elder Law.

This article contains affiliate links, upon purchase I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

GreenPan Claims

As of July 2024, GreenPan says ” THE HEALTHY CHOICE, Free of PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium.”

That it is a “healthy alternative” compared to PFAS-based non-stick pans.

And “GreenPan products don’t contain toxins such as aluminum oxide and are free of PFAS”, and “our pans are toxin free.”

At the time that the lawsuit was initiated (2019), GreenPan claimed “COMPLETELY TOXIN FREE,” “HEALTHY CERAMIC NON-STICK,” and contained “No PFOA, PFAS, Lead or Cadmium.”

Also “0% Toxins,” that they are “Good for the environment” and are “reinforced . . . with diamonds.” (source)

There are no significant changes to the claims since the lawsuit.

Test Results

GreenPan’s ceramic coating did not test positive for lead on the food surface but it tested positive for Barium: 1,220 +/- 200 ppm, Chromium: 126 +/- 59 ppm, Antimony: 66 +/- 40 ppm, Iron: 2,361 +/- 177 ppm, and Titanium: 51,900 +/- 900 ppm with XRF testing. (Source)

This does not mean that the metals will leach into food but is rather a count of what metals it contains.

It was indeed free of Lead, Cadmium, and Aluminum in the coating.

GreenPan seems to have shown legitimate test results in 2021 (they no longer share their test results).

According to I Read Labels For You, in these previous leach test results they declared the gray coating had 0.27 ppm Aluminum, was non-detect for Lead, and was non-detect for Cadmium.

They now claim to be Aluminum oxide free, which is substantiated by the XRF testing above (however, under the coating the pan is Aluminum).

The Ecology Center also tested GreenPan for PFAS (including PTFE) and it was in fact free of all PFAS (source).

GreenPan’s Lawsuit

A lawsuit initiated in 2019 alleged the pans contained potentially harmful silane, aluminum oxide, tetraethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxysilane, and potassium titanate (amongst other claims that their advertising was false or misleading).

According to an attorney, the lawsuit was dismissed. 

He explains “it is most likely that GreenPan settled with Ms. Saldivar by paying a certain sum of money. There is a chance the parties agreed that the plaintiff would dismiss the case with prejudice for other reasons, such as that the case lacked merit, but the odds of this are smaller“.

GreenPan says that the lawsuit “concluded with no findings of liability and no admission of wrongdoing by our company.”

And that “GreenPan vigorously disputed the claims that the Plaintiff brought against it, and supported its denial with a multitude of proprietary testing and technical data.” (source)

Conclusion

I own GreenPan and I consider this a good option for myself and a good item to have in rotation with stainless steel (which definitely does leach metals).

I can’t easily use the glass cooking pots since I cook on gas, and my body doesn’t do well with extra iron from cast iron, so I don’t have that many choices.

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.