Are quartz rod heaters (and space heaters in general) unsafe to cook food on/with?
Me and a few of my fellow soldiers here in afghanistan work night shift for 12 hours a day and we are unable to get food from the dfac due to the hours that they are open so we cook our own food using one of our quartz rod heaters, and it actually turns out pretty damn good! 
The other day an officer came in and said that it is unsafe to cook with a space heater due to the fact that it is not specifically made for cooking but offered no other reason than that. In my head, its just infrared radiation like in a toaster or oven so it should be safe and we arnt cooking it directly on the rods, we have a metal grill over it and the whole thing is cleaned every day we use it.
So am I wrong in thinking it is just regular infrared heat? Or is it just safe to cook some things and not others? We usually heat cans of soup (still in the can) and toast bagels right on the grill, so is either or both unsafe?
Thanks for your insight.
♥ †@ÿŁƏƏ♥ – Not concerned with the flamibility just with the health aspects. And we have it placed so atleast one person has eyes on it at all times so if it even starts to smoke we can deal with it (which never happens because when we cook "flamable" food we just sit next to it for a few minutes since it gets toasted so fast there would be no point in going away).
C.M. C – No we are american forces. So can you explain why is it unsafe and also the officer did not say we had to stop he just said he believes it to be unsafe.
Richard – Thanks that makes sense. I think thats what the officer might have been getting at but didnt know it or think of it that way. Im pretty sure the metal is safe but Ill check and make sure. And I appreciate the compliment too. 
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Tagged with: afghanistan • american forces • cans • compliment • dfac • fellow soldiers • few minutes • health aspects • ill check • infrared heat • infrared radiation • insight • metal grill • night shift • quartz • space heater • Toaster
Filed under: Infrared Toaster Oven
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From a technical viewpoint, your main danger comes from foodstuffs actually contacting the parts of the heating device. Some metals used in electroplating such as cadmium, zinc and the like can cause deadly food poisoning when infused during the cooking process. Example: People have died from food poisoning after using old refrigerator shelves as barbecue grills because the heating process oxidizes the zinc or cad plating which is then eaten with the food. Your infra-red / quartz rod heaters might have metal parts or plating not suited to heating of foodstuffs. All should be okay though if you use food approved containers for the food while heating it. I like your innovative ideas though.
It’s obviously a fire hazard.
Tyler, your not with the Canadian forces are you? Firstly it is unsafe, secondly you have been told by an officer it was unsafe, he wants you to refrain from that practice.