5 Foods You Should Never, Ever Reheat in the Microwave, According to Food Safety Experts

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5 Foods You Should Never, Ever Reheat in the Microwave, According to Food Safety Experts

Microwaves can be a convenient option for reheating foods in a pinch, simultaneously ******** bacteria and making your food safe. However, microwaves are also notorious for cooking food unevenly, allowing harmful bacteria to survive and thrive–and leaving you at an increased risk for food poisoning.

According to

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, 1 in 6 Americans get ***** from foodborne illness (aka food poisoning) each year. The

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are bacteria, including salmonella, listeria and E. coli.

“When reheating in a microwave, the food needs to be stirred at least once to distribute the heat and then put back in the microwave to get to the appropriate temperature (

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),” says

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, CEO of

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. “Follow the safe cooking instructions on packages carefully. They have been developed and tested by food safety scientists to help keep you and your family safe.”

To ensure your food is properly heated throughout, use a food thermometer to check your food has reached the proper temperature.

Related: The No. 1 Early Food Poisoning Sign Most People Miss

“As a food safety expert, my foundational message to consumers is to make a minimal investment and purchase a tip-sensitive, rapid-read digital thermometer from your favorite consumer goods store and use it when cooking most foods regardless of what type of oven you are utilizing,” says

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 professor of food safety at Kansas State University. “This is really the only true assurance that you are protecting your family’s health and is a key component of serving up high-quality food dishes.”

However, there are some foods that you should never reheat in the microwave due to additional risks and nutritional losses. Here’s what they are.

5 Foods You Should Never Reheat In the Microwave1. Infant formula or ******* milk

Although the microwave can quickly reheat formula and ******* milk, this should never be how you warm it up. “Microwaving formula or ******* milk can cause uneven heating, creating hot spots in the bottle,” says

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, a nutrition professor and registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) at Boston University (BU) and author of Nutrition & You. “These very hot parts of the fluid can scald a baby’s mouth.”

The

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also advises against microwaving ******* milk because it destroys nutrients in the heating process.

Related: The Grandpa-Approved Trick to Perfectly Cooked, Silk-Free Corn

2. Stuffed poultry

Stuffed poultry should never be cooked in the microwave, says

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Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at The George Washington University.

“Stuffed poultry may be labeled ‘ready to cook’, but you should not solely cook it in the microwave,” she says. “Foods labeled ‘ready to eat’ are more safe.”

The

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adds that while the chicken may cook quickly, the stuffing inside might not reach the appropriate temperature needed to ******** harmful bacteria–leaving the risk of foodborne illness high.

3. Marinades for raw meat or poultry

While marinades provide some wonderful flavors to raw, protein-rich foods before cooking them, you shouldn’t use the uncooked marinade as a finishing sauce for cooked meat or poultry.

“The uncooked marinade can contain pathogens that can cause foodborne illness. The marinades must be boiled first to ***** pathogens that can make you *****,” says Dr. Blake. “Since microwaving causes uneven heating, pathogens can still remain after heating. I would never reuse the marinade even if it was brought to a boil in a **** on the stove. It’s better to be safe than sorry.” 

4. Leftovers that you’ve had for more than a week

If you’ve had leftovers in your fridge for seven days or more, toss them–they cannot be saved by reheating in the microwave, per the

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.

“Very old foods can have spoilage growth (mold, yeasts) and bacteria. If they are in food and not ******* during the reheating process, they can cause severe illness,” says Baum. Leftovers are typically safe for three to four days, according to the 

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.

Related: What Is Fried Rice Syndrome? Experts Explain

5. Food left unrefrigerated for 2+ hours

If food has been left out at room temperature for two hours or more, Baum notes that you can’t just “heat the heck out of it” and make it safe to eat.  “Some bacteria can survive cooking temperatures and multiply when left out for too long,” she says. (The

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notes that bacteria grow between 40 °F and 140 °F, and can double in as little as 20 minutes.)

For example, she says that when perishable foods are not stored at safe temperatures, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria grow rapidly and produce toxins that cannot be destroyed by reheating, even at high temperatures.

Related: The Top 3 Packaged Foods Most Likely to Be Contaminated, According to Food Safety Experts

Another example is the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. “A single spore of it can multiply into 1,000 bacteria in a few hours, and reheating food that’s been contaminated with C. botulinum doesn’t ***** the bacteria nor remove the harmful toxins the bacteria has released into the food,” says Baum.

While the microwave can be great for a lot of things (an excellent modern invention!) there are some cases when it’s just not a great go-to heating method.

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Related: Food Poisoning Vs. the Stomach Flu—What’s the Difference? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

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