What food comes to your mind when we talk about chalet? 

To me, it’s BBQ food. Till today, people would associate BBQ food with chalet. It is only a small number of people who would start choosing catered or delivered food for convenience. We often do not consider the harmful impacts of barbecue. However, do you know that the fumes from it are inhalable and absorbable by our skin (Bao et al., 2015)?

Photo of different cooking methods

From a blog, not only BBQ food but also grilled, torched and smoked food are considered cooking methods that emit high Volatile organic compounds(VOC) and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH) that harms our environment and can attach to our food. Moreover, if it is charred, there would be a carcinogen and long-term consumption or exposure may lead to cancer. These increase our exposure and consumption of harmful compounds which can have adverse effects on our health. (I.e scrotal cancer, respiratory issues). It also emits Particulate matter and carbon monoxide when there is combustion (Poslusny, 2019).  All these together increase the concentration of harmful pollutants in the air which pollutes our environment and threatens our health.

It is good to note that using a torch requires some technique such as knowing if the temperature of the flame(blue flame) is high enough to make the gases oxidized, otherwise(yellow flame) harmful pollutants might end up in our food (Science of Cooking, n.d.). 

In the blog, there are some recommendations on how to reduce exposure to air pollution. However most of it includes tips to reduce emissions from grilling, and I think that we can do better by turning to other alternatives that would further reduce the emissions and is a healthier option for our health.

Alternative greener and healthier options includes: 

Air fryer / Oven

• Healthier option as much less oil is required.
• Lesser particulate matter emitted as there is an absence of fumes.
• Reduce direct contact of harmful pollutants with our food.
• Ensure that it is not overcooked or charred, otherwise it may contain carcinogenic (Cleveland Clinic, 2019).
• Air fryers are tested to reduce acrylamide(formed when cooked under high temperatures) content by about 90% compared to conventional deep frying methods (Andres, 2015).
• Inadequate research on the amount of VOCs and PAH it produces (Abbey, 2019).

Electric cooking

• Sustainable and renewable sources as compared to natural gas.
• Reduce direct contact of harmful pollutants with our food.
• Reduce emissions resulting from food as compared to charcoals in barbecues.
• Accumulates and produces less indoor pollution when there is less ventilation as compared to natural gas stoves (Bob, 2018).  

Though some may argue that the extraction and process to obtain natural gas contributes lesser carbon emission as compared to the generation of electricity for consumption, in the long run, if we adopt renewable sources for electricity like photovoltaic panels, such considerations would be irrelevant. Renewable sources would greatly reduce the emissions as compared to charcoal used in barbecues and natural gas used in gas stoves. 

Besides that, some may also add that some air fryers are made of plastics, and cooking with it may contaminate our food. However, Teflon which is a synthetic resin used for coating the metal basket of an air fryer to make it non-stick is actually a stable compound (Coyle, 2017). It would only release harmful chemicals unless the temperature exceeds 300 degrees which is unlikely prolonged heating for hours.

The alternatives options which I shared above are what I think are more environmentally friendly and sustainable for long-term usage as there would be lesser harmful air pollutants. Undoubtedly, more attention should also be shed on researching the environmental and health effects of air-fried food as it has limited data to derive a definite conclusion. Nevertheless, air fryer, oven, and electric stove have some noticeable benefits over conventional barbecuing and deep-frying, which reminds us that we can opt for a greener option since living with these household appliances will be a long period of time. Furthermore, these alternative ways of cooking can also provide a tasty and healthier meal! 

So, why not choose a greener and healthier option which will benefit us and our environment because we have nothing to lose. With that, I urge you all to keep thinking about ways we can enhance our air quality by making better choices when purchasing products especially for long-term usage, and consequently, contribute to lesser air pollution. 

Thank you for staying till the end and if you have any thoughts regarding this post, you may comment down below!

Your environmental buddy,
Zhi Yong

References:

Abbey, R. (2019, April 2). Are air fryers healthy? Benefits and risks. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324849

Andres. A., Borras. M.Juan., Escriche. I., Heredia. A., & Sansano. M. Effect of pretreatments and air-frying, a novel technology, on acrylamide generation in fried potatoes. (2015, April 13). Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25872656/ 

Bao. L.J., Guo. Y., Li. S.M., Wu. C.C., & Zeng. E.Y.  (2015, August 18). Barbecue Fumes: An Overlooked Source of Health Hazards in Outdoor Settings? Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26259039/

Bob, S. (2018, April 29). Gas or Electric-Which Stove Is Better? Retrieved from https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2018-3-may-june/ask-mr-green/gas-or-electric-which-stove-better

Cleveland Clinic. (2019, October 28). Air-Frying: Is It As Healthy As You Think? Retrieved from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/air-frying-is-it-as-healthy-as-you-think/

Coyle, D. (2017, July 13). Is Nonstick Cookware Like Teflon Safe to Use? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/nonstick-cookware-safety

Poslusny, C. (2019, August 22). BBQ Smoke: Is it Bad for Your Health? Retrieved from https://molekule.science/bbq-smoke-bad-for-health/

Science of Cooking. (n.d.). Cooking with a Blowtorch. Retrieved from https://www.scienceofcooking.com/blow-torch-cooking.htm