Toxins You’ll Never Find in Risa Products
At Risa, we believe home is our sanctuary and the kitchen is the heart of it. It’s a place where you can let stress slip away for a moment, soak up some time with your loved ones, get a little messy, and, hopefully, enjoy a tasty meal when it’s all said and done. That’s why we do what we do, to help you create those moments every single day.
But, it would all be for nothing if we weren’t committed to our community’s safety. As you’ll learn in this article, it’s an unfortunate reality that the kitchen has been home to harmful chemicals for far too long and we’re just now beginning to see the consequences. Your kitchen should be a safe space for anyone and, at Risa, we value that above all else.
So, today we’re talking about what you won’t find in Risa products. We’re not here to give you a science lesson on harmful chemicals, but we do want you to know the steps we’ve taken to ensure that you can fire up the stove worry-free. As for not burning the garlic? That’s up to you.
PFAS
Thank goodness for acronyms because we definitely can’t pronounce per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, which is what PFAS stands for. While most people don’t know how to say it, we are learning more and more about the potential risks associated with it. PFAS were invented in the 1930s and you probably know them by the product they eventually helped to create: Teflon.
We could go on and on about PFAS and, while they are definitely effective at being a non-stick substance, they’ve also been linked to all sorts of health concerns. According to a study conducted by the C8 Science Panel, PFAS have been linked to issues including “high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.”
Long story short, you want to avoid PFAS. If you’re in the market for anything that boasts non-stick, waterproof, or non-stain properties, then there’s a possibility it contains these harmful chemicals. The good news is that you’ll never find PFAS in any Risa products. We use a food-safe, sol-gel ceramic coating in our pots and pans, which have incredible non-stick properties and comply with all of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, as well as relevant European standards.
BPA and BPS
If you’ve looked at a water bottle in the past 20 years or so, you’ve probably seen the words “BPA-free,” which is definitely a good thing. Bisphenol S (BPS) and Bisphenol A (BPA) are chemicals used in the creation of hard plastics. While BPA has been linked to many health concerns and has been essentially eliminated from most markets, BPS has often been used as a replacement. The bad news? Well, BPS doesn’t seem to be much better.
According to the National Institute of Health, BPS has been linked to all sorts of side effects including, but not limited to, breast cancer, impaired neural function, infertility, insulin resistance, and more. If you’re looking into any hard plastic products, be sure to check and make sure they’re both BPA and BPS free.
When we were designing our lineup of cooking accessories—including the Stackable Steamer, Splatter Screen, and Pot Holders—we not only wanted them to be highly effective but we also wanted them to be free of any known or potentially harsh chemicals. In other words, they’re all BPA- and BPS-free, using a food-safe, durable platinum-cured silicone, which is a long way of saying, “safe and effective.”
The Heart of the Matter
As they say, the kitchen is the heart of the home and we need to keep our hearts healthy. It’s not enough to wait for government agencies to ban certain substances. We need to go above and beyond to ensure that the tools we’re using in our homes are safe. The last thing you need is cookware that could create negative side effects. At Risa, we’re only interested in spreading positive side effects, namely the sense of fulfillment, happiness, and closeness that comes with a life lived in the kitchen.
