Verdict definitions
- Pass: in normal use, food or brewing water contacts metal and/or glass only, or medical/food-grade silicone seals that are clearly named. No plastic reservoir or window in the water path. No PTFE/PFA or ceramic-nonstick cooking surface required for the main job.
- Partial: the main vessel is metal/glass, but you still skip a coated accessory, or lids/tampers/seals stay plastic or unnamed.
- Fail: plastic touches water or food in normal use, or the primary cooking surface is fluoropolymer/nonstick coated (including many “PFAS-free ceramic” pans when that pan is the point of the product).
Mainstream brand rule
Every category includes major brands (GE, Cuisinart, Breville, KitchenAid, Hamilton Beach, Ninja, Cosori, OXO, Zojirushi, etc.) and quotes their materials notes, not only niche “non-toxic” brands. We started that way after an early air-fryer pass missed an obvious GE model.
What we will not invent
- No guessed alloys, coatings, or star ratings.
- If a seal material is unnamed, we say so.
- Prices show a checked date (2026-11-01). Re-check before buying.
Recalls & discontinuations
Every product must have a recall.checked date within the last 35 days. We scan the CPSC SaferProducts API (and Health Canada notices when available) by brand and model. If a recall matches the listed model, that product is excluded from the published site entirely (no card, table row, comparison, homepage mention, sitemap entry, or buy link). It remains in our private catalog file for records only. Discontinued models may stay on the site, marked discontinued, with no buy links.
The nightly pipeline runs scripts/recall_check.py before build.py. The builder exits non-zero if recall data is stale, a recalled product is still wired as a quick pick or comparison entry, or any recalled slug/model string appears in the built HTML/XML/JSON.
Limits
Prop 65 warnings flag possible exposure, not a measured dose. “BPA-free” plastic still fails our plastic-free rule. Chromed or nickel-plated steel is metal plating, not PTFE. We note plating when known and leave the call to you.