Is Microwave Cooked Food Safe

[ethandron]

A young lady I know is quite determined that eating food which has been microwave cooked is dangerous. She's not talking about burning your mouth on neuked food, or the plastic container thing. She reckons the food changes, chemically or some other way, and actually becomes dangerous to our health if we eat it.
What do you think?

[Mamyalynne]

Perfectly safe.

[sandyRoe]

I think microwaves work by vibrating the molecules in the food and the friction of their movement cooks it. I can't see how that could be harmful.

[sandyRoe]

the heat produced by the friction ^

[viv38]

I think if she doesn't want to eat microwaved food, that's fine, me, I'll just carry on ........

[Old_Geezer]

I have read suggestion that it changes the structure or some such thing. I've yet to hear of anyone keel over due to microwave 'poisoning'. I don't think there is an issue but feel free to disagree.

[ethandron]

I remember when microwaves first came out and some people thought they were tools of the devil and you would die if you stood near one, let alone ate the food cooked in one.
Personally I think it's a load of bunkum and am very surprised that this intelligent young lady believes it. She sent me a link called 'ten reasons to throw out your microwave' if anyone's interested in googling and reading it.
I'm just curious as to what the general feeling is these days about micros.

[Mosaic]

I don't know how nature would differentiate between how a thing got cooked - surely heat is heat
Each method of cooking imparts its own flavours, but microwaves just strike me as too much faff rather than dangerous. It's another object to clean and dust.

[redman41]

I think every Household should have a MicroWave !
Very useful and saves Electricity

[mccfluff]

Ive been eating microwaved food since the early 80's, im not dead yet

[SlackAlice]

mccfluff
You beat me to it!

I'm not dead yet either.

[jim360]

Sounds like the sort of common and baseless fear that sometimes comes around -- see also "Fan Death", which is all the rage in South Korea despite having no evidence whatsoever.

[grasscarp]

The only thing I will say is that it is best to let things stand for at least one minute after coming out of the microwave. I once ate a pie immediately and my stomach rumbled around for ages in a horrible way. Apparently for a short while it carries on with the process it is doing.

[whiskeryron]

The only way the Microwave oven is dangerous is if you put your head in & switch it on & this is difficult because it doesn't work with the door open. On second thoughts no it is not dangerous, the only food I can think of NOT to cook in a microwave oven is ice-cream.

[snags]

Ping!

[Bazile]

Perhaps her assertion is that the microwaves themselves are dangerous ?

By the way - what is ' the plastic container thing ' ?

[boxtops]

They wouldn't still be on sale if they weren't perfectly safe. She's winding herself up unnecessarily.

[ethandron]

Bazile, it is thought by some 'experts' that some types of plastic containers leach chemicals into the food when it's microwaved, same with some types of cling film. You'd need to google it to read more about it.
I agree boxy, short of telling her I think she's bonkers, she'll have to just get on with it. She's so sensible and rational as a rule, I'm really surprised she has this bee in her bonnet. There again, I think we all have irrational beliefs about something or other.

[jomifl]

Sandy, heat is vibrating molecules, not need to invoke the mysterious delights of friction heating things up.