Lunchables Jr Ham Sparks & Burns (edited)

UPDATE MAY 8, 2008:
Kraft responded that the reason the ham sparks is because the pieces were cut up and touching. (???) They said this often happens with items such as ham, hotdogs, etc.
I did do another test, with everything carefully spread out, and it did not spark.
Weird.
I also cook hotdogs and such (cut up first) and they never spark... so the explanation is only partially comforting to me.
Kraft also sent a HUGE gift basket.
In the interest of fairness, I am going to assume that the plethora of gifts was due to me contacting several higher-ups at the company.
However, it was so crammed full of stuff, we are jokingly calling it the "Please don't sue us Gift Basket".

*******
April 23, 2008.
This is the edited version -- with text commentary -- of the ham in Lunchables Jr sparking and burning in the microwave.
A full-length, uncut version is also on my channel -- complete with a FULL DESCRIPTION in this space.
All edits are noted with a transition.
I await a response from Kraft Foods.
UPDATE:
I've had a few people suggest to me the cause could be "mineral," fat, or water content.
To those suggestions I say... WHAH???
Fat content: I reheat chicken, pork, ham and other things with fat on them all the time. No sparks.
I also cook BACON in the microwave.
(Plate, paper towels, bacon -- about 1 minute per piece on plate.)
No sparks.
Water content: Please. How many things do I cook with a high water content? Too many to count.
Mineral conent: Common. What mineral could POSSIBLY be in my baby's ham that is not in ANY OTHER food I prepare in the microwave?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Kraft
• Foods
• Lunchables
• Jr
• Spark
• Burn
• Fire
• Smoke
• Microwave
• baby
• toddler
• child
• eat
• ham
• bad
• kid
• cook
• oven
• Oscar
• Mayer

[mariajl]

Understood. But why wouldn't this explanation apply to anything else with high contents that I cook -- including hotdogs and other types of sliced or full ham? Also, wouldn't that explanation mean that it should spark even if the items aren't touching?

[rochon0003]

I dont think its metal shavings from food processing. I cut up ham that was from the center of a ham and it too sparked, but only where the ham pieces were touching.

[pyrix]

Why would ham spark if they're touching together? The only thing I can think of is metal shit in the food.

[papagriz33]

I just had some Farmland brand cubed ham & found the same sparking seen in your video. I was just curious if others had seen similar phenomena. My theory is the sparks are due to the high sodium content combined with the relatively sharp edges of the cubed meats. In its pure form, sodium is a metal. Metals in a microwave need a sharp point in order to arc to another sharp point. Hot dogs don't usually spark as they're rounded. Still, it's alarming that we'd eat something with such high sodium.

[Sabre20000]

Your not the first to see this. I looked up these videos due to a similar thing with Oscar Mayer hotdogs. We chopped one up to feed to our 16 month old...and they weren't piled up like yours...they were spread out on the plate.

4 seconds in and sparks started flying. Around 10 seconds one burst into flame. I have NO idea why this happened. I've heated hundreds of hotdogs up and never seen it before.

[pang5]

Seriously. Kraft and natural are enemies in the wild.

[WooHooCrossStitch]

I understand your concerns so maybe just stick to more natural foods. Its cheaper and also more healthy.

[iralphedonsusie]

Sodium and chloride ions from the high salt content would be my guess.