Microwaves Fail Tests
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday June 18, 1990
Some microwave ovens on the Australian market could be as much of a food-poisoning hazard as the British models implicated last year, a Choice magazine test has revealed.
A number, when used according to instructions, can leave food undercooked and potentially dangerous, according to Choice.
Microwave ovens came under criticism last year when a British food-poisoning epidemic saw as many as 2,500 people a week needing treatment.
Choice has singled out one Australian Philips model - the LE31 - as "not recommended", because, in Choice tests, it failed to meet two Australian Standards requirements: its electrical cord was not anchored securely, and its heat distribution was poor. The magazine says that the latter could lead to cool spots in food, in which harmful bacteria could survive.
Philips' marketing manager, consumer products, Mr Kym Biddell, said the LE31 model was now discontinued, though some stocks might still be in stores.
However, he denied that the model was faulty. When Choice advised the company in April of its results, " ... we carried out random checks of stocks and found no cord anchorage faults. We also carried out cooking tests, which produced well-cooked chicken and properly heated lasagna. We could not duplicate their results."
Though five ovens tested by Choice performed well overall and were recommended, and another three were rated "acceptable", the automatic features on some models worked so poorly that food could still emerge undercooked.
Automatic temperature probes in three models produced food that was raw in sections.
Mr Norm Crothers, technical manager of the Australian Consumers'Association, which publishes Choice, said the association had not called for the Philips LE31 to be recalled " ... because most people learn to live with their ovens".
"People are sensible," he said. "If chicken looks undercooked they put it back.
"A lot of the British problem arises from the number of 'cook-chill' foods on supermarket shelves - there are hardly any here as yet - and poor food storage habits there.
"Both give bacteria plenty of time to multiply and you can't tell by looking whether a cook-chill meal has been safely heated." (Cook-chill foods are ready-cooked meals in a refrigerated, rather than frozen, condition.)
He also said that some automatic features were "a rip-off".
© 1990 Sydney Morning Herald