The Chinese microwave oven industry has suffered a great loss since May from the rumor on the Internet that the frequent use of microwave oven would harm people's health, with the sales volume of the whole sector cut by 40 percent from a year before, eastday.com reported today.

According to a widespread essay from the Internet, microwave oven, though very convenient, emits the electromagnet wave which will not only do harm to people's health but destroy the vitamin content of the food as well.

More Chinese consumers doubted the rumor and dared not to buy and use microwave ovens, causing a sharp sales decline.

The Galanz Group, a leader in the nation's microwave oven industry by claiming nearly 70 percent of the market, was the biggest victim of the incident. The group hurriedly appealed for redress in Beijing yesterday, on behalf of the whole microwave oven industry to guarantee the safety of using microwave ovens.

The radiation generated by microwave ovens reached even less than by a common fluorescent tube, said Wang Lei, deputy secretary-general of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).

The examination indication of the nation's microwave ovens is better than the international standard, according to the China Home Appliance Research Institute, the appointed inspector by the State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. So the essay on the Internet is totally groundless, according to the institute.