Is microwave oven harmful?

The "harm theory" of microwave ovens has never stopped. "The leakage of microwaves from microwave ovens may cause harm to the human body, the negative effect of foods after microwave cooking on the nutritional level, the negative effect of foods cooked on microwaves at the food safety level", etc. The great confusion in the use of microwave ovens is deeper and deeper.

On April 2nd, the research results of "The impact of microwave oven cooking on food safety and nutrition" sponsored by the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute and the Institute of Industrial Economics, Technology and Economics of the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute were released, and microwave products and microwave cooking were systematically summarized. On the basis of related research, the research report further demonstrated the unobjectivity of various “harmful” statements of microwave ovens and various misunderstandings of consumers regarding microwave oven products.

Focusing on consumer confusion and focusing on the "harmful theory" of microwave ovens, the research focuses on microwave safety, nutrition and safety of microwave oven cooking foods, and microwave consumer behavior.

The microwave leakage of the microwave oven may cause harm to the human body, which belongs to the safety problem of microwave oven electrical appliances. Its quality control has been unified at home and abroad based on standardized standards and test evidence. Microwave oven companies in various countries, including China, control the microwave leakage of the microwave ovens they produce far beyond their existing international standards. From the microwave oven product itself, the microwave leakage prevention technology and the product's own production process can limit the microwave leakage to 10 watts/m2 or less. Therefore, the microwave oven is not qualified and will not cause microwave leakage if it is a qualified product.

The negative effects of food on the nutritional level after cooking in microwave ovens also have relevant standards. However, there is no special study in the industry. Therefore, there is no primary data for consumers to understand and convince. The China National Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute's home-level food inspection agency conducts comparative experiments on nutrient compositions of microwave-cooked foods and open-fired foods. Through the determination of nutrients such as vitamins, fats, proteins, and minerals, they have mastered Microwave cooking and traditional open flame cooking food nutrition data, due to the microwave heating speed, food heat evenly, so the microwave cooking does not make the loss of nutrients faster and more serious than traditional cooking, especially sensitive to the heating time The protection of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, microwave heating effect is significantly stronger than the open flame heating.

Regarding whether there is a negative effect of food safety after food is heated in a microwave oven, the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute focuses on the demonstration of microwave cooking on the molecular structure of the food and its influence on the gene, indicating that under reasonable cooking conditions, as long as the temperature and heating are well controlled For a long period of time, changes in the molecular structure of food are harmless and beneficial to the human body. Some consumers are concerned that microwave cooking or heating foods may increase carcinogens or produce undesirable mutagens in foods. After research and expert verification, this issue involves many disciplines such as medicine, biology, and genetics. Based on the basic principles of these disciplines, there is not enough evidence to support this view. In the study of the biological effects of microwaves, no research results and evidence have shown that microwaves can induce genetic mutations in animals and plants.