ATLANTA — A popular Instagram video claims aerosol cooking sprays are toxic because of the ingredient used to make it a spray.
“Stop using the traditional oil sprays. They’re toxic,” the video claims.
Content creator Bobby Parish, who goes by @flavcity on Instagram, claims the propellant used in cooking sprays is dangerous.
“Have you ever thought about how the spray comes out of the bottle? It’s with a chemical propellant,” he said in the video.
THE QUESTION
Does using propane or butane as a propellant make a cooking spray harmful to humans?
THE SOURCES
- Food and Drug Administration
- Dr. Francisco Diez, Director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia
THE ANSWER
No, chemical propellants do not make cooking sprays toxic.
WHAT WE FOUND
“The simple answer is the way that both the propane and butane are applied to this product presents very little risk to the consumer,” said Dr. Francisco Diez.
The chemical propellant's found in cooking sprays are either propane or butane, which are both gases. The moment you spray it, most of it will dissipate. What’s left of your pan will be minimal, according to Dr. Diez.
“Within a very, very safe level,” Dr. Diez said.
The FDA classifies propane and butane as “GRAS” substances, which stand for “generally recognized as safe.” Dr. Diez said salt, sugar and flour are also classified this way.
“One of the fundamentals of [GRAS] substances is that they’ve been consumed for many, many years with no evidence of harm whatsoever,” he said.
Dr. Diez stated as long as you use the spray the way it’s intended, it’s safe.
“Of course, if you grabbed the spray and you shoot it in your mouth, that’s going to be a completely different story,” he said.