Microwavable Foods

When I was younger my mother on occasion would tell me not to stand to close to the microwave oven while it was in use. I thought little of it, but I wondered what could be harmful about it. Now as college student I often use the microwave oven for quick meals, but how safe are the meals and the microwave that cooks them. If you look around any grocery store chances are you will find in the frozen food sections thousands of boxed meals such as Lean Cuisine or Hungry Man. It is convenient to buy frozen meals and cook them in the microwave, but how healthy is it? After researching microwaves I found out that little is still known, but there are still split sides on the subject. The FDA has regulated the manufacture of microwave ovens since 1971. They believe that microwave ovens that meet the standards for their agency and are used according to the proper instructions are safe. Microwaves use a type of energy called electromagnetic radiation. “Electromagnetic radiation ranges from the energetic x-rays to the less energetic radio frequency waves used in broadcasting. Follow the link below to the FDA’s website to find out more information.

FDA's Information On Microwave Ovens

Little research has been done to show the affects of the low-levels of microwaves on the human body. This is why the FDA does enforce radiation protection requirements. The National Research Council also found no link to harmful affects such as affects leading to cancer. The NRC says microwave radiation is non-ionizing radiation. It causes electrons to vibrate, thereby generating heat, but it does not have sufficient energy to cause physical harm by removing electrons from atoms. The type of radiation that actually has sufficient energy to remove electrons from atoms is called ionizing radiation. Much of the scares around microwaves have surfaced around the research of Hans Hertel a Swiss food chemist and William Kopp a U.S. researcher who claimed “People who ingested microwaved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers, plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues and a gradual breakdown of the function of the digestive and excretory systems.” Jim Felton who is associate director for cancer control at the Cancer Center University of California, Davis, says there is nothing solid in their claims. Both Hertel and Kopp are unreachable for questions and Hertel’s research was never published. Still the hysteria around microwaves is built from their information. So is it safe to eat frozen microwavable foods? It is probably not the worst thing for you, but one should look to other sources of food as well.