D. Jonker et Hp. Til, HUMAN DIETS COOKED BY MICROWAVE OR CONVENTIONALLY - COMPARATIVE SUBCHRONIC (13-WK) TOXICITY STUDY IN RATS, Food and chemical toxicology, 33(4), 1995, pp. 245-256
To compare the possible effects of microwave and conventional cooking
on a range of common dietary components, mixed human diets containing
beef, potatoes and vegetables were fed to groups of IO male and 10 fem
ale Wistar rats for 13 wk. The diet ingredients were cooked by either
of the methods in a normal and an abused manner, the latter consisting
of the normal treatment followed by two cycles of reheating to approx
imately 85 degrees C and cooling. The cooked ingredients were freeze-d
ried, ground and mixed with supplements of vitamins and minerals to me
et the rat requirements. An additional control group was fed a cereal-
based rodent diet. Criteria to assess toxicity included clinical obser
vations, ophthalmoscopy, growth, food and water intake, haematology, c
linical chemistry, urinalysis, organ weights, micronucleated erythrocy
tes in bone marrow, gross examination at autopsy and microscopic exami
nation of a wide range of organs. The results indicate no adverse effe
cts of the diets cooked by microwave compared with those cooked conven
tionally.