Reheating food with the microwave is a process we all like to do because it saves time and effort despite knowing the risks of using certain containers to reheat food. I bet you didn’t know that some foods become a threat when reheated
Here are 7 foods that you should not reheat in the microwave.
- Rice
Reheating rice in a microwave will provide a hot moist environment for the bacteria which will make them multiply. Rice often contains bacillus cereus, bacteria that produce toxins that cause mild food poisoning.
When you want to store cooked rice make sure to put it in a fridge to prevent bacterial growth.
- Mushrooms
Mushrooms should be consumed immediately after preparation because of the rapid deterioration of the proteins in it. If prepared mushrooms are stocked in a fridge less than 24 hours it’s safe to reheat them at a temperature of 158 degrees then eat them.
- Milk, Especially Breast milk
Milk is well known for its nutritious properties and breast milk serves a great role at improving babies immunity levels and helps preventing many forms of infections. However it is a not a reheat milk because it does not heat evenly some parts may get too hot and others will remain cold, on top of that the heat from the microwave will make the breast milk less nutritious.
- Chicken
Like milk chicken will not reheat evenly in the microwave, cooking it there is even worse because some spots will be undercooked, it will be a host of a large number of bacteria, that can cause salmonella infection. Cooking chicken properly will prevent such event to occur because high heet levels are able to kill bacteria but if you insist on using the microwave experts suggest that the minimal temperature is 160 degrees fahrenheit (around 15.6 degrees celsius).
5. Potatoes
In general potatoes can carry Clostridium botulinum a bacteria located usually in soils, it can produce 4 neurotoxins that attack the central nervous system. When cooking potatoes in the microwave some areas are left undercooked that are cold which is perfect for bactiria to survive and multiply and can cause botulism that leads to paralysis.
6. Frozen Meat
When cooking frozen meat in the microwave, outer parts can look well cooked but inner parts are either frozen or cold, and under cooked meat can be a host to bacteria that can lead to food poisoning, in addition to that bones can protect meat from the microwaves heat, so consider cooking frozen meat the traditional way.
7. Egg
Just like an under cooked frozen meat, eggs can cause food poisoning because they contain salmonella a bacteria that can be killed if exposed to high level temperatures, so consider cooking eggs the traditional way because if microwaved, there’s a good chance that some parts will remain uncooked thus preventing the destruction of bacteria in those areas and it can lead to food poisoning after consumption.
Avoid microwaving eggs within shells because they can explode when the shell is broken because of the build up of high pressured steam within the egg. This can also lead to severe burns and corneal damage that threatens vision.
