Is Microwave Cooking Safe?

[suzyQ3]

There is a lot of fear-mongering and just pure junk science when it comes to "new-fangled" inventions and just about anything else these days. And it's amazing how they can survive and multiply so easily now, thanks to the Internet.

One thing that has been proved is that blood should not be put in the microwave to be warmed for transfusions because it is altered in such a ways as to be very dangerous. Fortunately, most of us would have no cause to cook our blood in our microwaves.

 

[GB]

Fortunately, most of us would have no cause to cook our blood in our microwaves.

That's right.Heating it on an old fashioned campfire works just fine. No need to use the microwave.

 

[suzyQ3]

That's right.Heating it on an old fashioned campfire works just fine. No need to use the microwave.

Getting ready for Halloween, are we?

 

[GB]

Ummmm...yeah...Halloween...Sure, that's why I am heating blood.

 

[cookinworld]

Since I am new to this community, I am not eligible to post a link yet. But you can find this article by Google search. This kinds of results are bugging me about the food safety of microwave oven. I have no agenda what so ever. Simply, I want to know whether cooking in microwave is safe for my health and yours too.
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<FONT face="Times New Roman">"Stanford University Medical Center no longer microwaves breast milk, Kerner notes. And that's appropriate, Sigman-Grant believes, because of the small volumes of milk that hospitals typically serve newborns-especially premature infants."

 

[GrillingFool]

Randall M. Goldblum of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston disagrees, saying, "I don't see any compelling evidence that the microwaves did any harm. It was the heating.

In further confirmation of the overwhelming sentiment in this thread... and as a reminder to read the entire article and think while reading...

It is the HEATING OF THE MILK they are worried about, not the MICROWAVES.

 

[leeniek]

The only thing I have ever heard against microwave cooking is that it does not get the internal temperature of poultry high enough to kill the bacteria but I have had micro-cooked chicken before and didn't get sick. I think it all depends on the cook using common sense as has been stated in this thread and... at my BIL's place we had undercooked chicken that was done on the BBQ... not good and it was funny.. they were trying to impress me (a pro) and MIL an accomplished home cook and former caterer.

 

[Andy M.]

The only thing I have ever heard against microwave cooking is that it does not get the internal temperature of poultry high enough to kill the bacteria.../QUOTE]


Microwaves are certainly capable of getting the internal temperature of a piece of chicken up to safe temperatures (161 F). After all, they can boil water (212 F) with no problem...

 

[leeniek]

The only thing I have ever heard against microwave cooking is that it does not get the internal temperature of poultry high enough to kill the bacteria.../QUOTE]


Microwaves are certainly capable of getting the internal temperature of a piece of chicken up to safe temperatures (161 F). After all, they can boil water (212 F) with no problem...

The safety really is the responsibility of the person cooking and while microwaves cook things faster than the conventional oven, the cook still needs to make sure whatever they are cooking from a raw state in the microwave is fully cooked all the way through before they serve it and I think in some cases people don't fully cook their food when they use a microwave because they want it done fast.

 

[Andy M.]

The safety really is the responsibility of the person cooking and while microwaves cook things faster than the conventional oven, the cook still needs to make sure whatever they are cooking from a raw state in the microwave is fully cooked all the way through before they serve it and I think in some cases people don't fully cook their food when they use a microwave because they want it done fast.

I agree! Regardless of the means of cooking, the cook owns the outcome.

 

[leeniek]

I agree! Regardless of the means of cooking, the cook owns the outcome.

That they do for sure and when they're serving it to guests (or patrons at their establish
ment) they need to make 100% sure the food they serve is properly cooked and safe to consume.