Air Fryer Glossary: PTFE, PFAS, 304 Stainless and Other Label Words
This air fryer materials glossary explains the words on labels and in manuals in plain language. When a brand uses a word, the word is the brand’s own.
updated November 2, 2026 · 1 min read
The short answer
Three kinds of words show up on air fryer labels. Materials, like aluminum and 304 stainless, name the metal. Coatings, like PTFE and ceramic, name what sits on top of it. Claims, like “PFAS-free” and “non-toxic”, are statements someone has to back up.
What's on this page
What kinds of words are these?
Most confusion comes from using one word to answer the wrong question. It helps to sort them first.
| Question | Words that answer it |
|---|---|
| What is the part made of? | Aluminum, chromed steel, 304, borosilicate |
| What covers the surface? | PTFE, FEP, PFA, ceramic coating |
| Who stands behind a claim? | A manual, a spec list, a disclosure list |
One basket can be aluminum, have a ceramic coating and carry a “PFAS-free” claim. Those are three separate statements. What an air fryer basket is made of goes deeper.
Which words get mixed up?
PFOA, PFAS and PTFE. PFOA is one PFAS. PTFE is another, and it’s what a nonstick coating may be made of. So “PFOA-free” and “PFAS-free” are different claims, and neither tells you a basket is bare.
Stainless and chromed. They look alike on a store page. Chromed steel is plated, not stainless. See the Our Place Wonder Oven.
“Non-toxic” and “PFAS-free”. One is broad. The other names one family of chemicals. What “non-toxic” means on an air fryer explains who says it.
Where can I look words up?
The terms are listed below. To see them applied to real models, use the material table. A few entries also lean on the American Ceramic Society, the British Stainless Steel Association, and FDA rules on PTFE-type plastics and PPS plastics.
- 18/8
- Another name for the same grade as 304, says the British Stainless Steel Association. The numbers describe what the metal is made of.
- 21 CFR 177.1550
- An FDA rule on the plastics family that includes PTFE. It says they “may be safely used” under set conditions. It doesn’t approve an air fryer.
- 304 stainless steel
- A grade of stainless steel. A trade group calls Types 304 and 316 “the most commonly used stainless steels.” On accessories, “304” is usually just a number in the listing title.
- 316 stainless steel
- Another common grade, with molybdenum added to resist corrosion. We found no brand document that names 316 for an air fryer basket.
- AB 1200
- A California law from 2021. Cookware makers must post a list when a chemical on the state’s list is deliberately in the handle or in a surface that touches food. SharkNinja’s list includes its air fryers.
- ABS
- A common hard plastic. NutriChef’s page lists “Stainless Steel, ABS & PP” for its see-through-basket model.
- Acrylamide
- A chemical the FDA says “can form in some foods during high-temperature cooking processes”. It’s about the food and the cooking, and neither the FDA nor the Poison Center ties it to what an appliance is made of.
- Aluminum
- The metal under several coated baskets. Cosori says its TurboBlaze basket is “aluminum metal with nonstick coating”. The metal and the coating are two separate questions.
- Basket style
- An air fryer with a pull-out drawer that holds a basket or plate. Compare oven style.
- Borosilicate glass
- A heat-resistant glass. Its maker says it handles sudden temperature changes well. In an air fryer it usually describes the bowl, so check the plate, lid and handles too.
- BPA-free
- A claim that a plastic part has no bisphenol A. Ninja’s page lists “BPA-free lids”. It doesn’t mean there’s no plastic.
- Ceramic coating
- A nonstick layer on top of metal, not solid ceramic. A ceramics society describes it as a sprayed-on, baked-on mix of silica, metal oxides and binders. We found no study comparing ceramic with PTFE.
- Chromed steel
- Steel with a plated finish. It isn’t stainless steel. Our Place lists its Wonder Oven basket and rack this way.
- Coated (status)
- One of three labels on this site. It means a brand’s own document names a coating on the basket, plate, tray, pan or inside walls. The note says which part.
- Confirmed uncoated (status)
- One of three labels on this site. It means a brand’s own document says the basket has no coating. We haven’t found one for any air fryer yet.
- Crisper plate
- The plate in the bottom of a drawer-style basket that lifts food off the base. It touches food, so ask about it separately. Cosori says its TurboBlaze plate is aluminum with a nonstick coating.
- Disclosure list
- A brand’s published list of chemicals by product, often because of California’s AB 1200. It names chemicals and doesn’t say how much reaches food. SharkNinja and VeSync, for Cosori, publish such lists.
- Enamel
- A word brands use for some pans and racks, like Breville’s “enamel roasting pan”. The manuals don’t say what’s underneath, so ask the brand if it matters to you.
- Excerpt
- Words from a brand’s page that we saw only in a search result, because we couldn’t open the page. We mark them, and they never decide a label.
- FEP
- A slick plastic related to PTFE. SharkNinja’s list names it for some cookware.
- Free-of claim
- A statement that a product doesn’t contain something, like “PFOA-free”. The FTC has rules for these, and even a true one can mislead.
- Green Guides
- The FTC’s rules for environmental marketing claims. They cover “non-toxic” claims, broad vague claims and “free-of” claims.
- Housing
- The outside shell of the appliance. On most models, “stainless” describes this and tells you nothing about the basket or inside walls.
- Inner walls
- The sides of the cooking space. They can differ from the outside. Breville’s manual says: “The walls on the inside of the oven feature a non-stick coating for easy cleaning.”
- Insert
- A separate basket or rack sold to sit inside an air fryer. It swaps out one part and doesn’t change the rest. No brand we read approves a third-party insert for a given model.
- Listing title
- The product name a seller writes on a store page. It isn’t a document from the brand, so it never decides a label.
- Nano-ceramic
- A coating word in an excerpt of Ninja’s FAQ, which we couldn’t confirm. We found no standard meaning, so read it as a coating.
- No intentionally added PFAS
- A brand saying it doesn’t add PFAS on purpose. It leaves open anything that’s there without being added.
- Non-toxic
- A marketing word, not a certificate. The FTC says it needs solid scientific proof or a clear explanation. We never use it ourselves. We quote the brand that does.
- Nonstick
- A word that tells you there’s a coating, but not which one unless the brand says.
- Not confirmed (status)
- One of three labels on this site. It covers everything else: a search excerpt, a listing title, a silent manual or nothing at all. It isn’t a warning. It means we couldn’t read a document that settles it.
- Not detected
- A lab result that means the test didn’t find something. It only covers what was tested and what the method can see.
- Oven style
- A countertop oven with a fan, a door, racks and pans, often sold as an air fryer toaster oven. Each part can be a different material.
- PFA
- A slick plastic related to PTFE. SharkNinja’s list names it for some cookware.
- PFAS
- A big family of chemicals. The EPA says: “There are thousands of PFAS chemicals.” The FDA says some are approved for nonstick cookware coatings.
- PFAS-free
- A brand’s claim. Check which parts it covers and what backs it up. We don’t use the words ourselves, because we have no lab.
- PFOA
- One specific PFAS, once used to make PTFE. A PFOA-free label doesn’t tell you whether a coating is PTFE.
- Polymer fume fever
- The medical name for what people call “Teflon flu”, a flu-like illness linked to breathing fumes from overheated PTFE-type plastics. The reports we read are about pans and workplaces, and none names an air fryer.
- PP
- A common plastic, short for polypropylene. NutriChef’s page lists it for its see-through-basket model.
- PPS
- A heat-resistant plastic. Fritaire’s page lists an inside part of “Food-grade PPS (rated to 500°F)”.
- PTFE
- The slick nonstick coating best known as Teflon. SharkNinja’s list names it for many Ninja air fryers made before 8/15/24 and says: “This chemical provides a non-stick coating.”
- Reporting limit
- The lowest amount a lab will report. A row reading “< RL” means the result was below it, which isn’t the same as zero.
- SKU
- A seller’s code for one version of a product. One model number can have more than one. Cosori’s list shows two for its TurboBlaze, one with PTFE and one without.
- Sol-gel
- A common way to make ceramic-type coatings: a liquid mix is sprayed on and baked. Many recipes are secret, so a label rarely gives the full story.
- Stainless steel air fryer
- An air fryer sold with stainless steel in its name or description. Depending on the model, the stainless may be only the outside, may include the inside walls, and only rarely covers the basket and every part that touches food.
- Teflon
- The best-known brand name for PTFE. A page that says “no Teflon” has only ruled out one brand name, so ask about PTFE by name.
- Tempered glass
- A different kind of glass from borosilicate. Fritaire’s page says “Bowl Material: Tempered glass”. Ask the brand which kind your model has.
- Thermolon
- GreenPan’s name for its ceramic nonstick coating. We couldn’t open GreenPan’s product page, so we say nothing more about it. The manual page we read says only “nontoxic nonstick”.
Common questions
What is the difference between PTFE, PFAS and PFOA?
PFAS is a big family of chemicals. PTFE is a slick nonstick coating best known as Teflon, and the sources we read count it as a PFAS. PFOA is another PFAS, once used to make PTFE. So a PFOA-free label doesn’t tell you whether a coating is PTFE.
Is chromed steel the same as stainless steel?
No. Chromed steel is steel with a plated finish. Our Place lists its Wonder Oven basket and wire rack as “Chromed steel”, and doesn’t say they’re uncoated, so we don’t either.
What does AB 1200 mean on an air fryer page?
It’s a California law. It says cookware makers must post a list when a chemical on the state’s list is deliberately in the handle or in a surface that touches food. A list like that names chemicals. It isn’t a safety rating.
You might also like
- Material tableSee what 17 air fryers are made of. For each one we list the basket, the inside walls and any coating the brand names, with sources.
- How we compareHow we compare stainless steel air fryers: we read what brands publish, we don’t run lab tests, and we explain what “Not confirmed” means.
- What Is a Nonstick Air Fryer Basket Made Of?What is a nonstick air fryer basket made of? Usually metal with a coating on top. See what Cosori, Typhur, Ninja and Our Place say about theirs.
- PFOA-Free Air Fryer? Why That Isn't “PFAS-Free”A PFOA-free air fryer label names just one chemical. See why that says little about PTFE (Teflon) and what to ask the brand instead.
Where this comes from
- 1EPA, PFAS Explained (updated 9 September 2026)
- 2SharkNinja, AB 1200 disclosure list, last updated 04/01/2025
- 3California Attorney General, enforcement advisory on A.B. 1200, October 17, 2023
- 4Specialty Steel Industry of North America, Alloy Families
- 5SCHOTT, Borosilicate glass
- 6FTC Green Guides, 16 CFR 260.10 (non-toxic claims)
- 7FDA, Acrylamide Questions and Answers (content current as of 5 March 2024)
Stainless Steel Air Fryer Editorial Team
We are the team behind Stainless Steel Air Fryer. We read what the companies say and explain it in plain English. We don’t run lab tests, and we say so when we couldn’t find something out.