More than 85% of French households use a microwave oven. However, the question of the possible dangers and the impact on health of the more or less intensive use of such a device remains unanswered.
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[EN VIDÉO] Kezako: the surprising operation of the microwave oven To quickly heat up your meal, nothing is more practical than the microwave oven. This invention derived from radars does not use heat to heat food, but a much more surprising process. Unisciel and the University of Lille 1 explain to us, with the Kézako program, how the microwave oven works.
the microwave oven is it harmless? The question is both interesting and important as this device is now part of our daily lives. The question is also complex because, when we talk about possible health effectsit is necessary to distinguish the possible causes of these effects.
Waves dangerous to health?
The microwaves found in this type of oven are not ionizing. In France, regulations impose on manufacturers a frequency of between 2.4 and 2.5 gigahertz. This is a frequency comparable to that of the Wireless and close to that used to operate the mobile phones.
The intensity of leakage radiation that can escape from the enclosure of a microwave oven is also governed by a strict standard. Tests regularly show that these leaks are generally 10 to 100 times lower than this standard. And, of course, the dose received is lower the further you get from the oven.
A dangerous cooking method?
The waves of a microwave oven cause theagitation of water molecules contained in food and this is what allows it to be heated. In the context of normal use, the cooking temperature reached therefore rarely exceeds 100°C, the temperature at which the water vaporizes. Thus the risk of the appearance of carcinogenic compounds is much more limited than with other cooking methods. One can only advise against the experiments of physical fun in a microwave oven, which can lead to dangerous results.
The National Health Security Agency (Anses) advises for its part to scrupulously respect the recommendations provided by the manufacturers of microwaveable food products. Exceed power or duration The cooking times indicated on the packaging may in fact lead to the migration of chemical substances into the food.
An effect on the nutritional content of foods?
Studies on the nutritional content of foods cooked or reheated in the microwave are numerous. Overall, microwave cooking being faster than other cooking methods, it better preserves the nutritional qualities food, with the exception of vitamin B1.
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