To using pans with non-stick coatings is to ensure you use suitable utensils when stirring, flipping, shaking or turning foods. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, or indeed a more modern silicon one, will eliminate the chances of scratching or damaging the non-stick coating. Metal tools can gouge the non-stick layer, and that damage can lead to the coating steadily flaking off over time. But in the unlikely occasion that some end up in your food, there’s no proven health risk associated with ingesting these tiny pieces of coating – the chemicals involved don’t break down in the human digestive system.