Is Ceramic Cookware Safe?

It depends which kind of ceramic you mean. A ceramic nonstick pan has a coating on a metal pan. C&EN, the American Chemical Society’s news magazine, reports that manufacturers typically make these coatings with a sol-gel process, dispersing nanoparticles of minerals such as silicon dioxide, silicon carbide and titanium dioxide in a solvent, then combining the gel with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) resins and silane additives and curing it onto the metal.

That is a different material from PTFE, the most common nonstick coating. In the Ecology Center’s 2020 testing, 11 of 14 nonstick cooking pans had PTFE coatings, two were coated with silicon dioxide, which it calls ceramic, and one with a BPA-based epoxy. On marketing, the National Advertising Division concluded in August 2025 that Caraway had a reasonable basis to call its cookware free of PFAS and non-toxic, but not enough evidence for claims that competitors’ cookware is unsafe or less safe.

Glazed ceramic dishes and pottery raise a different question, lead and cadmium. The FDA says lead may be present in the glazes or decorations of some traditional pottery and can leach into food if the pottery is not made properly, and its compliance guidance says some ceramic ware has been found to leach significant quantities of lead and cadmium, which acid foods can extract.

Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.

The sources behind this answer

  • StudyC&EN reports that ceramic nonstick coatings are typically made by a sol-gel process, dispersing nanoparticles of silicon dioxide, silicon carbide or titanium dioxide, combining the gel with PDMS resins and silane additives, and curing it onto metal. C&EN, American Chemical Society ↗
  • Independent testThe Ecology Center found PTFE coatings on 11 of the 14 nonstick cooking pans it tested in 2020, with two coated in silicon dioxide, which it calls ceramic, and one in a BPA-based epoxy. Ecology Center ↗
  • Regulatory filingThe National Advertising Division concluded in August 2025 that Caraway had a reasonable basis to claim its cookware is free of PFAS and non-toxic, but not sufficient evidence for comparative claims that competitor cookware is unsafe or less safe. BBB National Programs ↗
  • Government sourceThe FDA says lead may be present in the glazes or decorations on some traditional pottery, and can leach into food and drink if the pottery is not manufactured properly. US FDA ↗
  • Regulatory filingThe FDA’s compliance policy guide says some ceramic foodwares have been found to leach significant quantities of lead from food contact surfaces. US FDA ↗
  • Regulatory filingThe FDA’s compliance policy guide says imported and domestic ceramic ware has been found with significant quantities of extractable cadmium, which acid foods can extract. US FDA ↗

Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.

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