How safe is it to thaw foods in a microwave????

I don't know how safe it is but I have done it several times. It is hard to gage how long it will take and usually leaves the product in a half done situation. Ugh! I usually thaw things in the refrigerator and so i don't do this very often.

The only thing about thawing food in a microwave is that it thaws unevenly and you can't stir it like you can thawed food. I don't know how that could make it unsafe, though, as long as you're going to use it right away.

Using a microwave to defrost things is, in principle, quite safe and a good thing to do because microwaves are more efficient at thawing the centre of the frozen food. Other methods (such as using warm water) defrost the outside first. You should always use the Defrost setting on the microwave (low power) and follow the instructions in the manual. The biggest danger is that the food won't be evenly defrosted and that parts of the food may be partially cooked while other parts are still frozen. This is particularly difficult with raw meat. The advice from USDA here may be useful: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Microwave_Ovens_and_Food_Safety/index.asp#9