Do You Know What You Are Spraying Into Your Food? Here Is My Solution

I knew I didn’t. So I turned the bottle, read the label, did some research and never bought another Pam bottle again.

I’ve used cooking spray for years, going through roughly a can a week between the scrambled eggs for breakfast and that veggie stir-fry for dinner.

However, one day, after discussing this topic with a friend, I turned the can over to read the ingredient deck.  I was shocked to see the long list of ingredients and didn’t recognize many of them, including dimethylpolysiloxane, diacetyl, and propellants. I decided to take these ingredients on a little trip down research lane so I could really begin to understand what I had just fed my family.

Dimemythlpolysiloxane: What a mouthful that word is! This is a chemical that’s a form of silicone that helps keep the oil from foaming. I discovered that it’s also used in cosmetics, refrigerants and Silly Putty. After reviewing animal studies, the World Health Organization stated that they found no adverse health effects associated with Dimethylpolysiloxane. However, personally, I’m uncomfortable feeding my family a chemical that has uses in cosmetics and Silly Putty.

Diacetyl: Studies have shown that exposure to diacetyl (the butter flavoring that is often added to cooking sprays) can increase your risk of lung disease. With long-term or repeated exposure, diacetyl can cause serious respiratory disease. While many cooking spray manufacturers no longer use this chemical, researchers are still concerned about the risk of lung disease.  

GMOs:  Cooking oils such as canola (rapeseed), corn, and soy are commonly made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or ingredients that have been made through genetic engineering to be resistant to weather, pests, and chemicals that would damage an all-natural plant. GMOs are in high use in the United States and many consumers have concerns about their safety.

Propellants: When oil is placed in an aerosol can, you need to add some sort of force to get it out of the can and into your pan. That’s where propellants enter the picture. While most of the commonly used propellants are on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) list and considered safe to consume, I’m still uncomfortable adding chemicals like as isobutane or propane to my family’s diet.  Butane, isobutane and propane are colorless and odorless compressed gases that are derived from petroleum and natural gas.

Short story: None of these are life-threatening. Actually, they are all FDA-approved. But, let me remind you that the FDA is that same federal government agency that thinks aspartame and artificial colors are not problematic. Unless you inhaled directly from an oil canister, I think you should be okay.

So, even though many experts and the FDA deem cooking sprays to be safe, as a mom I prefer to keep the chemical consumption in my home at a minimum. Instead of purchasing a can of aerosol cooking spray, I made my own. I bought these easy to use oil spray bottles (click here for direct link) and I never looked back.

These bottles are so easy to use, refill and store. They are made specifically for this use, and you can use one for olive oil and the other one for any other oil your family enjoys.

True, it may have added a few extra calories, but I avoided using any chemicals. Now I do not need to think twice, every morning, while I serve my children scrambled eggs, trying to be a good mom by filling them up with proteins before a long day at school.

Now I know what’s in those eggs.

P.S. And by the way, has anyone ever managed to spray (or do anything at all!) for ¼ of a second? What a farce. Of course it’s 0 calories and 0 risk. There’s also practically 0 chance to get anything real spray coating in that ¼ of a second.