In a case of ‘baker beware’, a Ranfurly woman’s was alarmed to find bits of Teflon in her cooking.
Anna Greer made the discovery after spotting small black specks throughout her batch of shortbread. She traced it back to her mixer’s attachments, with both the beater and dough hook shedding their black coating.
She only bought her mixer – a Sunbeam Planetary Mixmaster - just over a year ago, so she contacted Sunbeam to ask what the coating was made of and whether it was safe for consumption.
The company eventually confirmed the beaters were coated with non-stick Teflon, similar to non-stick pans. A customer service representative told her “the good news is that ingesting small flakes of nonstick coating is not dangerous. The material will most likely just pass through the body."
This didn’t reassure Anna; telling Fair Go when she bought the mixer, there was nothing on the box to suggest the attachments would be coated in Teflon.
A Sunbeam spokesperson told Fair Go that the coating is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and passes LFGB Food Grade Standards.
It says flaking shouldn't occur and it hasn't received any similar complaints about the products.
However, online reviews show customers of another appliance brand, KitchenAid, also venting their frustration over flaking beaters. The company told Fair Go that “chipping can occur for many reasons” including hitting the beater against the bowl to remove ingredients, hitting the bottom of the bowl or removing the beater with too much force.
KitchenAid says its coating has passed “all food contact safety guidelines for Australia and New Zealand”.
Sunbeam has offered Anna a refund – but she hopes that baking attachments will be made without the use of a coating in the future.
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