Low-salt microwave meals could pose a hazard in kitchen

Companies reformulating micro-wave meals and foodstuffs to meet demand for healthy, more nutritious products run the risk of injuring consumers, it has been claimed.

Gama Microwave Technology, which offers a testing and advice service for retailers and manufacturers, said that salt reduction can significantly raise a microwaveable product's heating reaction. Consumers could get burned by products that "erupt" because the correct heating conditions have not been reassessed.

Over the last decade the choice of microwave ovens has widened to include much higher and more inconsistent output power levels, often to the detriment of the food products, claimed Gama. "This situation has created unexpected and potentially hazardous heating problems," it said.

While the government has no plans to review the standards developed for microwaves by former Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Gama's Gordon Andrews said: "It is incumbent on the food industry to set standards for others to work from." Most retailers were aware of the dangers, he added, the problem was with manufacturers.

Andrews would like to see a higher rating on packs, which currently only have a range of A to E for two microwave power outputs. "We should certainly be talking of a G," he said. "With higher UK voltages -- Grimsby is typical with 250V plus -- you get excessive power."

He added: "I'm annoyed about this situation. The problem is not with steam products, but with normal products which overheat and lift the film lid."

The Food Standards Agency does not accept that there are any safety issues associated with the use of microwaves (Food Manufacture May 2003, p5) but Gama cited the example of a test on ready meal products heated for the supplier's recommended time at an indicated power level in a "popular microwave oven" that became so overheated it not only ruined the product, but also "became an eruptive hazard"

When heated using another oven model with the same indicated power level rating the product "did not reach a safe recommended serving temperature", it added.

According to packaging supplier Linpac Plastics, there are more than 2,400 accidents a year in the UK involving burns and scalds when using microwave ovens. Safety and hygiene concerns were behind its recent 'Cool to Touch' microwaveable foam tray packaging which "remains cool to touch even when the food is piping hot"