Are there any safety issues with rice cookers?
Like many types of automatic heating appliances,
the occasional safety concern will arise. Rice cookers, due to their
generally low heat and ability to self contain, pose very few risks for
everyday use. But like all electric cooking appliances, there are going to
be some concerns about their safety that you should at least be aware of.
Here are a few of the common concerns about the safety of rice cookers and
their solutions.
Rice Cookers Use a Teflon Pan
Many rice cookers use a Teflon based pan for
cooking their rice in order to give it a non-stick surface that is more
suitable for baking the sticky grain. Within the past few years, there have
been a number of concerns raised about the safety of Teflon, as one of the
chemicals used to manufacture it has carcinogenic properties.
All available evidence says that Teflon in rice
cookers is safe. Approximately 500 degrees is necessary to start degrading
Teflon, and rice cookers almost never go past 230 degrees when they are
working probably – well short of the heat needed to release the toxin. In
addition, there are not many other options available. Stainless steel and
clay are both effective for cooking rice, and less sticky than aluminum and
other substances, but both still are prone to burning rice and having it
stick on the pan. However, if Teflon’s safety worries you, you can easily
use one of these alternate options and still cook rice effectively.
Stainless steel is probably your best choice.
Rice Cookers Keep Warm Safety
Most rice cookers have their own “Keep Warm”
feature that ensures that he rice is warm and ready to eat for as long as 24
hours or more. There are two concerns with this. First, that the rice is
still safe to eat after the 24 hour period, and second, that there is no
chance of fire or burning if left on for too long.
With regards to the former, rice can carry bacteria
known as Bacillus cereus if the rice cools to less than 130 degrees.
However, these same spores die at temperatures above 140 degrees. The “Keep
Warm” function is designed to keep rice anywhere from 140-170 degrees. It
would not be a bad idea to check the product description and find out the
temperature, but chances are you will be safe.
As for the heating dangerous, the rice may dry out
after that long a period of time, but because the heat is contained and
doesn’t reach too high a temperature, there is very little likelihood that
any smoke or fire will start. The heating components are well controlled.
Additional Safety Features
Rice cookers also come with additional safety
features for convenience. Many come with a surge protector to avoid any
serious complications should your home experience a power surge, while
others come with a retractable cord to prevent tripping when the rice cooker
is not in use. Both of these are standard on most of the expensive models,
though are not always present on some of the cheaper designs.
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