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CAC tests microwaves Canadian Consumer has done tests this year on eight topselling microwave ovens to determine their safety The most important tests dealt with safety factors radiation leakage before and after durability testing was done and electrical safety Other areas examined dur mgthe testing included the deSIgn of controls and door closures and the range of power settings and ease of maintenance The performance of each oven was also rated elec trically as well as by test of microwave distribut ion Four models were rated as acceptable at the completion of the tests done in April Panasonic NIB78000 Toshiba ER77713T Sanyo IBM8002 and Admiral MRC2478 Two others Kenmore 7479957710 and Litton Moffat MUC2456 and the re maining two Hitachi MR755 and Amana RR7 were not recommended for purchase All the ovens were tested immediately on arrival for under four conditions with minimum load to absorb emitted radiation with no load with load and wedges between the door and the ovenand without load and wedg ed To wedge the doors file cards were placed between the door and oven until the interlock would just operate The oven would then be tested for leakage MAXIMUM LEAKAGE These tests were simulated to indicate the maximum leakage possible when material in the oven gets caught in the door as the oven is operating All eight models passed standards set by the Federal Radiation Emitting Devices Regulations for loaded and empty ovens but under stricter conditions set by the CAC two failed The stricter conditions in volved tests done with ovens containing load and wedges between the oven and door This condition tests the sen sitivity of the interlocks and tells us how the oven would perform under abusive cir cumstances says the CAC For example the spr inging of the door hinges or food caught in the seal could result in higher leakage without the interlocks preventing the oven from starting Under the CAC conditions the Amana Kit7 and the Hitachi MR755 emitted radiation at level of 12 milliwatts per square cen timeter The standard set was one milliwatt per square centimeter To determine the effect of age on the ovens the CAC simulated approximately 15 years use by mechanically opening and slamming the oven doors thousands of times Radiation leakage was measured at the start and finish and in the final results only the Amana suffered suf ficient damage to the in terlock to prevent the oven from starting After the simulated heavy use one of the Amanas interlock swit ches snapped off The tests also covered leakage with loads and wedges between the doors and ovens after 15 years simulated use and the Amana again showed an in crease in radiation from 12 to 18 milliwatts per square centimeter When it was run without load and with wedges in the door there was much higher leakage 55 milliwatts per square cen timeter Federal regulations set allowable emissions for normal empty oven at milliwatts The ovens were also tested for power output efficiency and electrical safety FINAL RESULTS Final results revealed that all were electrically safe says the Canadian Con sumer but they were less ef ficient than was reported by manufacturers In each case the output power available for cook ing was significantly lovei that was claimed itlfl Canadian Consumer The average claimed out put was 666 watts while the average actual output was 47 watts At 527 watts Litton Moffat was the closest in terms of manufacturing claims of out puts Both Amana and Hitachi had actual outputs of below 500 watts despite claims of 700 watts or more according to CAC test results In tests for efficiency taking into consideration the ovens output versus power input the ovens had 33 per cent average rating By comparison the top of an ordinary range is more cf ficient if you are using propersize pots with tight fitting tops said Canadian Consumer The microwave oven is more efficient for baking and roasting Other tests covered thc areas of conveniencc and timers and distribution of microwaves To test distribution of microwaves the At tested the pattern of distribution at the top middle and botloiii of the ovens using uniform cheese slices arrangcd to cover the entire cooking area one level at time Only one oven the Sanyo was rated as good The Panasonic and Toshiba models were rated as the worst distributors In general distribution tended to improve toward the top of the ovens according to ACtests While microwave ovens were being tested in laboratories CAC teclinir cians also visited ttawa area homes to test microwave ovens in use OVEN TESTED Over 100 ovens were tested for radiation leakage during twoweek period and wherever possible the ovens were tested under the same four conditions as ovens in the laboratories In the results four iii dividual ovens did not meet standards set for new ovens although none could be dctiii ed as new savs the At Fourteen of the 110 ovens we checked had lcakagc above this level under one of the four test conditions Final results rated thc Panasonic as the most acctpr table on the grounds of cone venieiice with temperature probe low leakage and fllllrSlZOd ovcn cavity Its main disad vantage was poor distribu tion of microwavc radiation making rotation oi food crucial to even cooking said Canadian onsumcr Toshiba EltTTHXI was next on thc acccptablc list with temperature probc fullsized ovcn cavity and ac ceptablc rate of normal radiation leakagc Disad vantages of this modcl in cluded its high radiation leakage undcr abusivc testing conditions and HS poor microwave distribution Third on the list was Snnyo EiiltttXJZ with low radiation leakage even under abusivc testing proccdurcs also had tlic bcst niiciowuvc distribution of all modcls tested and was easy to use Drawbacks against tlic Sanyo said Canadian on sumer included limitcd timer only 15 minutcsr small ovcn cavity and singli temperature sct ing The final acceptable modcl was Admiral Mitt247tt lts radiation lcakagc was low and its microwavc distribu tion was average according to AC testing Drawbacks included poor outsidc finish and interlocks although there was no safety rclatcd problem and no temperature probe Both the Kcnnioro 7479957710 and thc Litton Moffat Mitt $54507 wcrc rated conditionally ittt table because they did not have separate start buttons and could be rcstartcd automatically by closing lhc door while the timcr had time remaining Canadian Consumcr did not recommend these ovcns for families with children saying that allowing an cmp ty oven to restart automatically could rcsiilt iii damagc to thc magcntron or hazardous lcakagc Because both samples showed low leakage undcr the four testing conditions they were given the rating of conditionally accept able Two models were not recommended thc llitachi MIt755 and the Ainana ltlt Both were poorly rated by the CAC because of radiation leakage Canadian Consumcr said the Hitachi was judgcd asy to use but with poor rangc in power settings and the sc cond highest radiation leakage measured at the curl of the durability test under extreme condit ions The Amana had the highest radiation leakage of all ovcns tested in the laboratory and higher most than most tested in the field said Canadian Consumer It was different in up pearancc from thc other samples opening downward rather than to thc sidc and had good range of powci settings and average microwave distribul ion Microwave ovens the examiner Wednesday Oct 18 978 15 Alookothow they Operate There are more than too models of microwaves available for con sumers to choose from ranging In price from about $400 to 3750 And the range of special features is also wide offering variable power settings temperature probe and electronic controls This is one of the models stocked at Sears shown by Shelly Wilson microwave oven demonstrator Examiner Photo Rodioti on Ieo koge from ovens is main danger government How ovens it is qucsticn that concerns some coiisunicrs who urc con tcmplating buying Iiiicrowa vc ovcn And it is question that pro mpts variety of illllS from manufacturers hcaltli officials and tillSllllltltIlfliIlllldlltillS lhc licalth protcction branch of Health and clfuic teuiuda says thc ovcn itsclt 1S ciitircly harmlcss providing that it is in good working condition and sale are microwave thc proptr oiwrating pro ccdurcs arc used licroics arc non ionizing form of radiation which disuppcais as soon us llll mugnctron is turncd oil say licaltli protcctioii branch of lltlitl lhcy will not makc thc food or tlic ovcn iiizitcriuls rudiouc tivc There isnt any strange reaction going on between the microwavcs and the food other than friction says June Sills homc economist with Ontarios ministry of agriculture and food oft icc in Elmvalc llic only rcactioii is the cooking litat cuiiscd by friction from tho microwaves vibrating tlic moisturc in food she says lhc dnngcr comcs wlicii door seals arc not tight or door in terlock switchcs dont work and radiation may lcak out says Miss Sills As saicty prccaiition thc fcdcial govtrniiiciit has SlitllllSlIHl cxposiirc lIlllltS to providc substantial safcty margins to protcct owncrs oi microwavcovciis lll an articlc invcstigutiiig microwavc ovciis priiitcd earlier this year anadizin onsumcr says thr risk from microwavc tll appcars to in minimal The risk from iiiiciownvc VtlLS is so minimal that it is probably onc of thc softst up plianccs that can be llSttl in kitchcn says nnndiiin on suincr During the last dccadc thcrc havc liccn millions ol manhours of liiltiowtivc um and no rcportml iiiiurios from energy omission llicrc is no chungc in food other than what would occur it coiivciitional cooking oi do microwave ovens ltlflllllt rays that can bc liaardous to your lltitllll llicrc may bc cvidcncc llttttl that sonic dungcrs uic involle to pcrsons cximscd to high lcvcls of iiiicrowavc iirliitiintivvltxltlltlttljltlltlilS oi illllt tttltlllfL to thc liculth pro tcctiou brunch ltSliiltll doiic lll tItlltl ttillllllltS has siig gtstul that pcrsons cxposcd to lcvcls in cxccss of 10 llllllllllS pcr squiirc ccntniictcr for as tciidcd pciiods oi tinicinuy donlopcataracts lii Kingston titSt ot pcisis ltllt Uplltill irritation was iii vcstigucd by thc Kingston branch of oiisuincrs ssocii tion of tunudzi illltl owncrs cluiincd thc ttll radiation lcnkagc too llllltS Ihc stnnr lard tor llt ovciis liccausc of any possibility of dungcr tunadian toiisumcr has thc following iltl icc iiiicrowuvt titll should lJt clicckcd itlllltlilll for radiation linikugi protcct tlic ovcn tlNllS dur ingaiiynioving dont stand unrcasoiiably closc to an operating oven the further away you stand the less radiation you rcccivc dont stand with your cycs close to the oven window and buy microwavc own which ltulllltS an automatic shutoff rcquiriiig £1 start button to bc piishcd again for thc ttll tostart cvcn ll tlic time has not yet riin tocro lhc qucstioii of satcty can bc cqiizilly uscd with traditional nicthods of cooking says Fran lowson national cooking conr sultant for liitton Mottat lhc advantage of microwavc oven is that childrcn cant burn thcir hands thc way they can on hot burncrs or ovcn clcniciits Sllt said In tcrms of child siiicty tlic microwavc ovcii is for piclcltililc to stoves or ovcns Price sizeand automatic features determinefinol purchase selection lhcrc inc variables to considcr in dcciding which microwavc oven to buy ranging from tho sizc of your lainily to thc sclcc tion of automatic fcutiircs you prclci lt dcpcnds on what you cx pcct from it says June Sills iitarios ministry of agriculture and food officc in Elinvalc flow many pcoplc arc you planning to food on an avcragc night How many icaturcs arc you iiitcrcst ing in paying tor What is your pricc rangc And what capacity do you want your ovcn to hold Many of thc daily calls shi gets from consumcrs in thc nor tlicrn hall of Sinicoc ounty arc requcsts for advicc on buying microwavcs shc said lhcy ask what modcls to buy and what our reports say about microwave ovens shc said Fran lowson national cook ing consultant for Litton Mofr nunibcr of fat says variablc powcr fcaturcs arc onc advantagc consumcrs should look for That way you can control the amount of power coming in to an ovcn shc said ltcforc now microwavc ovcns oiin cookcd at onc lcvcl Variable power now allows ovens to simmer defrost roast saute bake and braisc food said Mrs lowson Another good fciiturc is thc tcnipcraturc probc which con trols thc internal tcmpcraturc of the food in the oven she said This assures that your foods are complctcly donc beforc scrving Electronic controls can bc us ed to program cooking she add ed frozen roast can bc thaw ed and then cookcd to prcsct tempcraturc and even kept warm for period of tinic all donc automatically Depending on the number of featurcs included in model consumers are looking at price range of $400 to $750 with top dcluvrc models hitting $050 slicsiiid lhcrc arc over 30 lincs right now that produce morc than 100 models to choosc from shc said so choosing onc can bc difficult And while tlic cost of microwave ovciis is high clcc tricalsziviiigs arc cquallyhigh Stiidics by manufacturers and otlicrs liaVc shown clcc trical savings of tilt to 77 pm cent possibly ovvrconvciitional CKlkllltl methods says an artie clc printed carlicr this ycar in Canadian tonsuincr For ovcrall savings two person families savc the most up to it pcr cool on cooking cncrgy annually said anar dian Consumer Next best are tourpcrson families saving about 00 por cent annually Savings for sixperson family would be ncgligible In addition to energy savings convcnicncc is an important assct said Mrs lowson think most pooplc think of microwavi ovens in tcrms of defrosting food and boating things in hurry shc said crc trying to cliiiiigc that illtlllltlt into one of looking to tlic lllltltlilt to do inorc iiid morc oi tlic daily cooking jobs slicsaid llic growth of tlic inicrowuvc industry in tlic last five yours is tcstiiiioiiy to in iiicicusing dcpciidcncc on them as Ill ac ccptcd lioiischold ippliiincc slicuddcd licioic cooking up plianccs icrc in about 110000 homes in Him with total of H000 SilltS that your lty lllt cnd of him close to tivc pci ccnt ot tiiiidiun honus about rioooo lll havc lllltltitlt llllllS to thaw lltiltll itcnis rchcat lcltovcrs and cook widc riingc of food shcsaid lty lime closc to onc million families across aiiiidzi will have microwavc ovens and will be using them for most of their nicals says ltob Harris prov duct general manager of Litton Moffut Industry optimists arc con fidcnt that slightly more than 100000 coiiiitcrtop units will be sold this ycar up from $85000 in 1077 hc says Andcvcn thc cautious peo plc of the industry are of the opinion that at least 00000 microwave npplianccs can be moved this ycar While the trend toward microwavc cooking is growing both Miss Sills and Mrs lowson dont forcscc time in the near lllt iirc when microwavc ovcns will be thi solc moans of cooking food think it will bc combina tion of iiiicrowuvc ovens and the more tradiatioiiiil stoves said Mrs lowson Icoplc arc still going to prefer tlicir stoves for sonic dishes Conventional cooking techniques don always work with microwaves Cooking With microwave oven requires change in at titudes and expectations says lanc Sills honic economist for Ontarios ministry of agriculture and food office in Elinvalc She says people who use conventional cooking methods find that it takes time to adjust their techniques for microwaves Icoplc dont undcrstand ccrtaiii microwave cooking in an intcrvicw And in lot of cases the maniifiicturcrs dont include pri iic pics of she said much information with thc stoves they sell There are six principles to keep in mind when using microwave oven she said the starting temperature of the food should be the same as room temperature because the colder the food is the longer it will take to cook the density of food deter mincs the length of time it takes to cook heat or defrost the food volume also deter mines the cooking heating and defrosting time with increases in volume being matched by iii creases in cooking timc1g stirring foods such as scrambled eggs or pudding keeps the cooking even by br inging the outside cookcd por tion toward the ccntrc and vice versa food should be arranged with the larger thickcr DUI tions toward lhc outside of thc dish and the thinner smaller portions in the centre tthis is done because microwaves cook the outer section of the food first and the centr last and because food continues to cook after being removed from the oven standing time is needed before serving to allow thc llttll to bc condiictcd toward thc centre of the food Allowing the food to how pro pcr standing timc is crucial savs Fran lowson national cooking consultant with Litton Moffat The niicroiiavc ovcn opciatcs on tho idea of thc microwavcs causing friction to bcgui among thc water molecules in food slic said in an interview lhat friction continues cvcii after the food is takcn out of thc ovcii Andtliat is why standing tinic is so important People who cling to the bclicf that food should be thoroughly cooked before being taken out of the oven will end up with overcooked food she said What youre really doing is taking food out of the microwavc before it is fully cooked she said roast would be takcii out before bciiig thoroughly cook cd and would bc left sitting for 15 to 30 minutes to allow the iii side friction to wcai down she said And once you have learned that principle you can use it to your advantage Mrs lowson added By SUE BURKE Of The Examiner MicroWave ovens Some families depend on them for almost all of their dai ly cooking saving the more traditional stoves for special occasions Others are still at the pur chasing stage unsure of what features to look for and what their money can buy And still others nurse deep doubts as to their safety con cerned about the use of microwave radiation and the possibility of leakage The fear of the unknown is something which plagues many people who are considering buying microwave oven says Jane Sills homc economist at Ontarios ministry of agriculture and food office in Elmvalc In some cases people dont understand how microwave oven operates the principles that are involved And in others they have bought microwave but they dont fully understand how to operate it The Examiner takes look at microwave ovens in this arti clc examining what tests have been done to determine their safety Interviews have been done with Jane Sills along with representatives of companies manufacturing microwave ovens And we have looked the results of done by the health protection branch of Health and Welfare Cnada and by the Consumers Association of Canada The final decision whether to purchase microwave ovens is for the reader to decide Microwave ovens basically consist of an oven cavity an electronic vacuum tube device known as magnetron and an electric power supply The magnetron is energized when the power is turned on and microwaves are generated The microwaves are than distributed throughout the oven cavity by reflections from the metal walls of the cavity and by rotating fanlike reflector called the st irrcr Food placed in the oven cavi ty absorbs these microwaves when they are generatwl The microwavcs penetrate through the food causing the food molecules to vibrate against each other The result is rapid rise in temperature Its the same concept as rubbing your hands together the friction of thc rubbing ac tion causcs heat on both hands says Miss Sills IENICIItIES FOOD Microwave radiation only ixinctratcs thc food being cook ed an inch deep from the expos ed surface so the food is cooked as much by conduction or thc spreading of heat as by microwai pcnctrat ion Microwai es themselves are form of lectromagnetic radia tion similar to high frequencv radio waves says the health protection branch of Health and Wclf re Canada lilicrowave radiation travcls in straight lines and can be reflected or absorbed by matter in its path Glass plastics and other nonmetallic materials allow microwave radiation to pass through them which some materials such as food ab sorbs the microwaves Safety standards have been SlilhllSlltd to reduce the possibility of radiation hazard Set by the health protection branch these standards in cludc the following re quirements ovens must have onoff in dicators oven doors must have at least two interlock switches to ensure that the door cannot be opened until the microwave power generator has been turn ed off and that the generator cannot be switched on while its door is open if door interlock fails the oven must be rendered automatically inoperative warning sign must be visible on the oven from distance of three feet at minimum twocolor inverted triangle containing symbolic representation of microwave generator and the words Cau tion MicrowavesAttention Microondes microwave radiation leakage from the oven must not be more than one milliwatt per square centimeter measured five centimeters from the ex ternal surface of the oven and ovens must have per manently affixed label showing the name of the manufacturer model number serial number date and place of manufacture type of microwave generator peak operating voltage operating frequency and noramal power output STANDARDS SET Microwave ovens sold in Canada must comply with these standards and the re quirements of the Canadian Standards Association The Consumerrs Association of Canada tCAC has checked with manufacturers through the Magazine Canadian Con sumer to see if they would test ovens for leakage through ser vicing networks All the manufacturers con tacted Admiral Amana GSW Litton Moffat Hitachi Matsushita PanasoniCi Sanyo SimpsonsSears Ken moret and Toshiba claimed to provide this service even after warranty says CAC spokesmen Some said that ovens were checked whenever they were serviced and others said that although not every depot had proper equipment they would make every effort to have the ovcns tested said Canadian onsumer in publication oftest results this year spokesman for Litton Mof iat says ovens are monitored before leaving the factory Its typical for microwave oven factory to have three times as many quality control inspec tions as other electric appliance plants lii addition to requirements set by the federal government the AC has some suggestions of its own do not attempt yourself repairs do not modify your equip mcnt keep the oven clean par ticularly around the door seal if the door interlock fails dont operate the oven until it has been serviced by compe tcnt servicenian and if change in door seal operation is observed have it cliccked by component ser vice organization Because possible leakage of radiation is concern the most important safety features of microwave oven are the doors and interlocks These interlocks must be in place to start the oven and at least two are required in every WtIl seal or spccial groove also lines the door to prevent microwaves from leaking at hazardous levels doit Lois Turney of Barrie correctly identified last week entry in The Newsmakers Contest as June ht school at Eastview won Big Meal at McDonalds If you know the story behind this weeks entry send your name address telephone number with your entry to Newsmakers Contest The Examiner Box 370 Barrio L4M 4T6 Examiner Photo Winners will be notified by mail Winners are selected by random draw of all correct answers bend