Brooklyn Steel Cookware Lawsuit Claims Nonstick Pots and Pans Contain Forever Chemicals

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges the maker of Brooklyn Steel-brand nonstick cookware has failed to disclose that the products contain “forever chemicals,” synthetic substances that are harmful to human health even at low levels. 

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The 16-page forever chemicals lawsuit against manufacturer Brumis Imports says all Brooklyn Steel nonstick cookware products contain harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and thus expose consumers to a host of potential health effects, including various cancers, liver damage and immunotoxicity issues. Per the case, the affected products are also sold in a variety of sets, including the following:

• Atmosphere;
• Celeste;
• Cosmo;
• Diecast; 
• Galaxy;
• Gravity; 
• Luna;
• Lunar Eclipse; 
• Mars;
• Milky Way;
• Nebula;
• Orion;
• Rocket; 
• Satellite; 
• Solstice;
• Summer Solstice;
• Supernova;
• Ultraviolet; and 
• Zodiac.

According to the complaint, New York-based Brumis Imports has failed to apprise consumers of the fact that the Brooklyn Steel cookware products, touted as containing ceramic coating that is good for consumers and the environment, contain PFAS, and recently disclosed “its intentional use” of the chemicals to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to the state’s first-in-the-nation PFAS reporting law. Per the lawsuit, public advocacy group Defend Our Health received information on Brumis Imports’ alleged use of PFAS, which are known as forever chemicals given their resistance to degradation and ability to bioaccumulate over time, via a public records request and “thereafter assisted in publishing Defendant’s disclosure of PFAS in the Products.”

The suit says that the company knew, or should have known, that forever chemicals were unsafe and come with health risks, particularly given the dangers of PFAS are well known and the growing demand for PFAS-free products. 

“Not only did Defendant omit that the Products contain PFAS, Defendant also made misrepresentations that the Products promote health and are good for the environment,” the case charges. “The presence of PFAS, however, renders both representations false.”

Neither the plaintiffs nor others would have bought Brooklyn Steel nonstick cookware, or paid as much for it, had they known the products contained PFAS, the case contends. 

According to the complaint, 10 states have banned the intentional use of PFAS in food packaging. Maine is the sole state with a law on the books that prohibits the sale of any product with intentionally added PFAS, set to become effective January 1, 2030, the lawsuit shares. 

“Until the ban takes full effect,” the case adds, “Maine enacted an additional law requiring that companies disclose whether their products contain intentionally added PFAS to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.” 

The lawsuit relays that Brumis Imports was one of more than 60 companies that have submitted information to Maine on products they sell that intentionally contain PFAS.

The case looks to cover all persons in the United States who have bought any Brooklyn Steel nonstick cookware products, including the sets listed on this page, during the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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