Conagra Brands has been hit with 17 new lawsuits that allege certain cans of Pam cooking spray ignited fires that severely burned users. The suits, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, allege the Chicago-based food maker sold dangerous and faulty products and failed to adequately warn consumers of the risks.

At least 6 lawsuits have been filed against Conagra Brands alleging that Pam exploded and caused serious injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The complaints allege that Conagra changed the design of Pam aerosol cans in 2011, making them “faulty, dangerous and prone to explosion.”

It was back in the late 1950's when Arthur Meyerhoff transformed the way Americans cooked with the invention of PAM cooking spray. PAM was healthier and easier than using butter, margarine, or liquid oil and provided cooks with excellent results –no food stuck to or burnt on the pan, leaving little cleanup.

Pam Cooking Spray, the original and number one selling aerosol nonstick cooking spray in the United States, is all natural and does not contain any sodium or cholesterol. American Home Products replaced the fluorocarbons in Pam Cooking Spray with other edible oils to meet environmental standards.

A viral video claimed aerosol cooking sprays are toxic because of the ingredients used in the propellant.

Many cooking sprays contain something called lecithin. While it's harmless enough to use on most cookware, lecithin has the unfortunate ability to stick to a nonstick coating. It sticks so much that it builds up and becomes very hard to remove, eventually degrading the cooking surface and causing food to stick.

It may sound harmless - even counterintuitive - but using a nonstick cooking spray, such as Pam or Smart Balance, can damage your pan's nonstick finish. Cooking sprays leave a film that adheres to the nonstick surface and is tough to remove with just soap and water.

Soy lecithin and dimethyl silicone are considered to be generally safe food additives, and the levels of propellants in aerosol cooking sprays are too low to be toxic, although they can be flammable, so don't leave them on a stove or near a heat source - and never spray them near an open flame.

Ingredients : 'CANOLA OIL*, PALM OIL*, COCONUT OIL*, LECITHIN FROM SOYBEANS (NON-STICK AGENT), DIMETHYL SILICONE (FOR ANTI-FOAMING), ROSEMARY EXTRACT (PRESERVATIVE). '

Superior no stick. Pam avocado oil delivers superior non-stick performance while adding zero fat to your cooking. Its high smoke point and neutral taste makes it perfect for frying and searing. So turn up the stove, and get cooking!

Works well: Low-fat, low-calorie cooking If you're counting your calories, cooking spray is the way to go. A one-second spray contains about 7 calories and 1 gram of fat. By comparison, a tablespoon of butter and olive oil both contain over 100 calories and 12 to 14 grams of fat, respectively.

Have you ever thought how the oil actually comes out of the bottle well look on the back it's with a chemical propellant the chemical is either propane or butane. So let's verify. Does using propane