Stainless Steel Air Fryer and “Non-Toxic”: What the Word Does and Doesn't Tell You
Stainless steel on the outside doesn't answer the “non-toxic” question for a stainless steel air fryer, because on most models it only describes the outside. We don't call any air fryer “non-toxic”. We can show you what each brand says about the parts that touch food.
updated November 2, 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
A stainless outside tells you little about the parts that touch food. Breville and GreenPan both name a coating inside their stainless-looking ovens. “Non-toxic” is a big claim, and the FTC says it needs evidence or a clear explanation. We never use it in our own voice. Check each part in the brand's manual, and ask in writing if it says nothing.
What's on this page
What does “non-toxic” actually promise?
The FTC treats a “non-toxic” claim as a claim about people and the environment. It says the claim needs solid scientific evidence or a clear explanation. A stainless outside is not that evidence.
That's why we never use the word ourselves. When a brand uses it, we quote the brand. The claim belongs to whoever makes it.
Is the inside of a stainless air fryer coated?
Often, yes. Here is what some brands say in their own words:
- GreenPan Bistro 9-in-1: the manual says the basket is “coated in a nontoxic nonstick”, and the walls and pan too. It doesn't name the coating on that page.
- Breville BOV900: “The walls on the inside of the oven feature a non-stick coating for easy cleaning.”
- Instant Vortex Plus 6 Qt: “The Cooking Tray has non-stick coating.”
- Cosori Iconic: the manual mentions “the ceramic coating on the crisper plate and inside the basket”. Cosori's page says the basket is 304 stainless steel.
- Our Place Wonder Oven: the FAQ says the inside and included inside accessories are made without PFAS “(including PTFE)”. The bake pan has a “nonstick ceramic coating”.
A word on a label is a place to start asking questions. That goes for every brand here. For more, see what “non-toxic” means on an air fryer. Eight models sorted by what brands say are on where to start without a ranking.
What is PFAS, and what does the FDA say?
PTFE is the slick nonstick coating best known as Teflon. PFAS is the big chemical family it belongs to.
The FDA says some PFAS are approved for use in nonstick cookware coatings. It says studies show only a negligible amount can get into food. That page doesn't cover fumes or damaged coatings, and it doesn't name air fryers. We don't stretch it to cover them. The wider question is on are air fryers toxic.
What about the stainless steel itself?
Some people say stainless steel gives off nothing. One small study found otherwise. Tomato sauce simmered for six hours in a stainless steel pot had up to 26 times more nickel and up to 7 times more chromium.
Keep the limits in mind. That was acidic sauce in a pot, in contact for hours. There was no air fryer in it, and we found no air fryer measurement. So we say nothing about how an air fryer compares.
If you have a nickel allergy, please talk to your doctor.
Which one should I look at?
Least coating we found
Our Place Wonder Oven
A stainless oven with a chromed-steel basket and rack, plus one ceramic-coated pan.
We don't call it “non-toxic”. It's here because the brand lists its materials part by part, and only the bake pan is named as coated.
Good for families who want the least coating and don’t mind an oven shape or a coated bake pan they can leave out.
Coating: Has a coating
- The brand lists a stainless oven and a chromed-steel basket
- The brand’s FAQ says the inside is made without PFAS “(including PTFE)”
- The bake pan has a ceramic nonstick coating
- Chromed steel is plated, not stainless; the brand doesn’t say uncoated
- Accessories are not dishwasher safe; no steel wool
See the full materials list
Full materials list
Our Place Wonder Oven
| CoatingHas a coatingOnly the bake pan is named as coated, and the basket is chromed steel. | |
|---|---|
| Basket | “Chromed steel”, not stainless steel1 |
| Inside | “Stainless steel”1 |
| Coating, per the company | Bake pan: aluminum with “nonstick ceramic coating”. The brand’s FAQ says it’s made without PFAS “(including PTFE)”1 |
| Outside | The brand lists the oven as “Stainless steel”; the outer shell isn’t listed separately1 |
| Size | “13 qt” in the specs, “12-liter” in the FAQ1 |
Where this comes from
- 1Our Place, Wonder Oven product page. company website, checked November 2, 2026.
- 2Our Place, Wonder Oven user manual (silent on materials; copy hosted by QVC). manual, checked November 2, 2026.
Which one should you get?
If you want the least coating on paper and an oven shape is fine
Our Place Wonder Oven · Has a coating
View(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on AmazonIf you want a drawer with a stainless look and can live with a coated basket
Cosori Iconic · Has a coating
View(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on AmazonIf you want a stainless-looking oven from a brand that lists its coated parts
GreenPan Bistro 9-in-1 · Has a coating
View(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on AmazonIf you'd rather not have a metal bowl around the food
You can also look at the Instant Vortex Plus*. Its manual names a coating on the cooking tray, but it doesn't say what the basket is made of.
Where this leaves you
A stainless outside doesn't settle it, and neither does any word on a box. If you want to start from what's written down, try the Our Place Wonder Oven*, and note its chromed-steel basket and one coated pan. For the full list, see the material table. If the basket is your main worry, read about stainless steel baskets.
Common questions
Is a stainless steel air fryer “non-toxic”?
We can't say that about any air fryer, and we don't test anything. On most models, stainless only describes the outside. The better question is which parts touch food and what the brand says about each.
Does stainless steel put nickel or chromium into food?
In one small study, tomato sauce simmered for hours in a stainless steel pot ended up with more nickel and chromium. That study didn't use an air fryer, and we found no air fryer measurement anywhere. We make no statement about air fryers.
I have a nickel allergy. Should I avoid a stainless air fryer?
Please ask your doctor. We can't give medical advice. The brand can tell you which metal is in which part.
What should I ask a brand before I buy?
Ask in writing: “Is the basket stainless steel, and does any part that touches food have a coating?” If a brand calls a part “non-toxic”, ask which parts that covers and what backs it up.
You might also like
- “Non-toxic” on a label“Non-toxic” on an air fryer is the brand’s own word, not a test result. Here is what it can and can’t tell you, and how to check the parts that touch food.
- 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.
- “PFAS-free” air fryersWhich brands say “PFAS-free”, in what words, and for which parts. We test nothing, so every claim here is the brand’s own.
- Are Air Fryers Toxic? What the Sources SayAre air fryers toxic? No source we read says so, and none gives a clean bill of health. Here is what the FDA and others say, in plain words.
- Is Stainless Steel Non-Toxic? What One Study FoundIs stainless steel non-toxic? We don't use that word for any material. Here is what one study found in tomato sauce, and what it left out.
Where this comes from
- 1FTC Green Guides, 16 CFR 260.10
- 2Breville, BOV900 instruction book, p. 29
- 3GreenPan, BISTRO 9-in-1 user manual, p. 4 (copy on ManualsLib)
- 4Our Place, Wonder Oven product page
- 5Kamerud, Hobbie, Anderson, J Agric Food Chem 2013;61(39):9495 (PubMed; full text at PMC4284091)
- 6FDA, Questions and Answers on PFAS in Food (content current as of 18 June 2026)
- 7Instant, Vortex and Vortex Plus 6 quart user manual, p. 25 (copy on ManualsLib)
- 8Cuisinart, TOA-70 Series instruction and recipe booklet, p. 4 (copy on ManualsLib)
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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.