Ok, thanks for the concern, have used expanded steel as shelfs for years on other grills with no issues. This expanded steel from Home Depot is advertised on the box as being used for bbq's. I sanded the exterior on both sides and washed in soap and then put in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400. There was no off gassing or smell of any sort. If this bothers you I am sorry but I wouldn't use it if I didn't know that it was safe. My professional life deals with stuff such as this on a private level and with OSHA. We can look a little further if you're all interested in the metalorgy of this product. But with all of the litigations these days you wouldn't be able to buy something from Home Depot that said BBQ on it with it not being safe or with out some sort of warning being posted. There was no warning posted.