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Is food cooked in a microwave oven considered harmful for the health?

I am well aware that there are concerns about "hot spots" (small areas which are hotter than others that are produced in the microwave) when heating something by microwave, but until I read this, I was under the impression that heating food (or formula/milk) in a microwave had adverse nutritional effects. It seems that heating it until it is lukewarm and then using hot water for the remainder would actually be more effective.

  • Aside from the "hot spots" issue, is there any detriment to microwaving a bottle?
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cwallenpoole
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  • Well, as a single datapoint, once I tried to warm a baby bottle, the kind that's open on the bottom and had a plastic liner. So then I pointed it away from myself and gave it a shake. Pow! The liner popped and gave me 2nd-degree burns on my chest! – Mike Dunlavey Jan 13 '12 at 19:21
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    I've seen some kid-oriented science experiments using heat-sensitive color-changing substances that provide evidence hot/cold spots do exist - though I don't know if / how long they'd persist in low-viscosity liquid. Edit: http://www.puttyworld.com/usethputofis.html uses color-changing putty to find cold spots in a microwave, and measure the distance between them to estimate the speed of light. –  Jan 13 '12 at 21:23
  • @JoeWreschnig If you made that an answer, I would definitely +1 it – cwallenpoole Jan 13 '12 at 23:14
  • If you separated the claims into separate questions, I'd feel comfortable posting it as an answer. As it is, it really says nothing about the safety of baby food - and it's hardly a site I'd turn to for serious scientific information. –  Jan 13 '12 at 23:18
  • @JoeWreschnig That makes sense, so I created another question: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/7556/are-microwave-hot-spots-real which you should answer! – cwallenpoole Jan 14 '12 at 06:15
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    I would just make sure you heat it in a BPA & phthalate free type of plastic, or use a glass bottle. – Darwy Jan 14 '12 at 07:40
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    Maybe this is a better question for the Parenting SE? The nutritional aspects have already been addressed here. – Larian LeQuella Jan 14 '12 at 15:32
  • I suppose that it wouldn't matter much for formula, but it might be worth reiterating DO NOT MICROWAVE WATER IN A SMOOTH GLASS CONTAINER. – Bart Silverstrim Jan 19 '12 at 16:38
  • @BartSilverstrim I've done that before. It is only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and you end up over-heating the water. It is perfectly safe otherwise. – cwallenpoole Jan 19 '12 at 17:33
  • O_o um....boom? – Bart Silverstrim Jan 19 '12 at 17:50
  • Since separating the claims, this has become a duplicate. – Oddthinking Feb 01 '12 at 07:25
  • @BartSilverstrim Not at all, you just *need to know what you're doing*. I also know how to hard-boil eggs in the microwave without them exploding. – cwallenpoole Feb 01 '12 at 07:33
  • And you think the average litigious consumer will take the time to do this? You have far more faith in humanity than I do... – Bart Silverstrim Feb 01 '12 at 10:43
  • @BartSilverstrim Not at all. I think that the average consumer will end up getting a severe burn. That said, it is *possible* to microwave fluids in the microwave with no negative effects. – cwallenpoole Feb 01 '12 at 15:35
  • Oh yes, agreed. Just not safe for average end users. – Bart Silverstrim Feb 01 '12 at 16:20
  • @BartSilverstrim I completely agree. – cwallenpoole Feb 01 '12 at 20:13

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