Students use microwaves for popping popcorn, boiling water and heating frozen dinners to save time in their busy college lives.

But because of a Feb. 12 warning from the United States Department of Agriculture, this popular appliance may lose some of its credibility as a safe and easy way to heat foods.

The USDA’s warning stated that more than 30 people in 12 states have contracted salmonella from eating undercooked frozen chicken entrees that were heated in a microwave.

“Foods cooked improperly in the microwave have the potential to make people sick,” said Graciela Padua, a research associate professor of food science and human nutrition.

Padua added that one of the main reasons for the salmonella outbreak is because people simply don’t follow the directions on the food’s packaging. If consumers read the instructions more carefully, the risk of sickness would be minimized, she said.

“You can touch the inside of a food to tell if it’s cooked,” said Carol Shriver, a dietician and regional nutrition manager at Provena Covenant Medical Center. “If the food is cold, the microwave didn’t kill the micro-organisms.”

In recent years, rumors have formed about microwaves saying they can leak radiation, cause cancer, affect pacemakers and suck nutrients out of foods, according to consumerreports.org

Both Padua and Shriver said all of these rumors are false, and, in fact, microwaves actually preserve nutrients in foods.

“On a stove top, heat destroys some of a food’s nutrients,” Shriver said. “Microwaves actually retain nutrients and allow for a healthful diet.”

Another concern, mainly among University students living in residence halls, is about having a microwave in such close proximity to where they sleep and study.

Maya Koenig, freshman in FAA, said that she has never gotten sick from microwaved food, but she still feels unsafe having a microwave under her bed because it can heat up the area and may even catch her room on fire.

Koenig said microwaves are convenient for many students because they are fast and easy to use, but if students choose to buy microwavable meals, they should be aware of how to cook them.

“There has been no research done saying microwaves are bad,” Shriver said. “People just need to follow the directions and cook foods at the right temperature for the right amount of time.”