It was terrible. Smoke was rolling out of the vent in my microwave. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
I followed the directions on the package of Thai Style Spring Rolls by Lucky Foods. It said:
Wrap frozen spring rolls in paper towel, place on microwave safe dish. Heat for 1.5 minutes, flip and continue heating for an additional 1.5 min.
Usually, I cover food in the microwave with a paper towel
Lucky Foods certainly is going to hear from me.
The photo above shows what’s left of the spring roll and paper towel.
Several days later, my house still smells like smoke.
Here’s a YouTube video that shows if you wad up a paper towel and put it in the microwave, it will catch fire.
So, no more paper towels in the microwave for me. I’ll just put a plate over the food.
Update: I received a phone call from an employee of Lucky Foods, who asked not to be identified, about this incident. They tried to replicate my experience, but the paper towel didn’t catch fire. He asked about the wattage of my microwave because it might be high. I said I didn’t know what it is. He said beans, carrots, and green peppers can cause arcing in a microwave because they’re higher in minerals such as iron, magnesium, and selenium. He said he’d send me an email with information about it. He said the firms cooking instructions are valid. I told him I was still planning to file a complaint with the FDA because it was such a traumatic experience. He was obviously irritated with me indicating that he’d read my article about the fire in my microwave.
Before I filed a complaint with the FDA, I thought I’d heat the remaining spring roll in the microwave without a paper towel. Here’s the result:
So, I won’t be filing a complaint with the FDA. It appears that my microwave wattage is high. When I talked with my daughter about the fire, she said she thought my microwave cooks food more quickly than hers.
My advice to Lucky Foods is that if they're going to take the time to call someone about a complaint, they should at least be polite, not irritated and rude.
