The food industry offers many prepared meals to be reheated in the microwave oven. You should know that precautions should be taken when opting for this type of cooking. Certain rules make it possible to prevent the migration of chemical substances from food packaging.
Food packaging and migration of chemical substances
We know that foods, even dry ones, contained in cardboard food packaging can be affected by the phenomenon of migration of chemical substances. Thus, chemical elements, such as printing inks, pass through the cardboard and contaminate the food.
In the same way, the migration of chemical substances can concern foods to be reheated in the microwave oven. Therefore, it is necessary to follow certain rules to avoid this effect, mainly due to heat.
Presence of POSH in food
L’Considered and the National Consumer Institute have studied this problem with different types of packaging (bags, trays, etc.). The results indicate that: “Regarding polypropylene food trays that can be cooked in the oven or in the microwave, the tests […] revealed the presence of POSH (which can be used as lubricants) in several samples stored at room temperature”.
The two organizations also noted that the content of POSH: “increases during reheating, and in particular in the case of extensive reheating (higher temperature and longer duration)”.
The rules to follow to avoid the migration effect of chemical substances
Before heating food in food packaging in the microwave, read the cooking advice. Indeed, the brands offer instructions for how long and at what temperature the dish should be reheated. Thus, the risk of migration of chemical substances is limited.
If the cooking conditions are not known, it is important to reheat your dish at a low temperature. It is, in fact, the high temperatures that will promote the migration of chemical substances in food. It is also possible to decant the food into a microwave-safe glass dish, especially if the packaging is damaged.