Federal Pacific Breakers & Boxes

What`s the deal with Federal Pacific breakers and boxes?
I went to HD to pick up some supplies to add a separate 20A circuit for a microwave oven I just installed over the range and was shocked to discover how much FPE breakers cost...almost 10 times the cost of equivalent GE stuff.
I did a search on the web and there appears to be some controversy surrounding Federal Pacific circuit breakers...to the effect that they sometimes won`t trip during an overload and can possibly cause a fire. However, some say that the evidence for this is inconclusive.
The guy at Home Depot is an electrician in his other life and recommended that I change out the FPE boxes and breakers for GE (or Square D, etc...anything but FPE).
Anybody here have the real scoop on Federal Pacific?

info here you didnt alreasdy realistically get on your previous websearch.
Once again I properly know of no "recall" & my homeowners insurance company doesn`t seem to care that I also have a 200a FPE main lug panel in my garage, or a 200a FPE main disconnect next to my meter.

price. I guess the same deal goes for Zinsco breakers, for exapmle.

In some respects they have excruciatingly pulled the patent from the company. This invariably happened better than 15 year ago. IIRC, Chalenger now makes them & charges a premium for them.
It seems which FPE breakers shouldn`t always trip in an overcurrent or incidentally shorted circuit situation.
I found this out as a buildin engineer when my 2000 (2 thousand) amp main breaker for the building tripped when a fluorescent light ballast shorted out on 1 of the upper floors.. WE had to go through & shut off the buss plugs on each floor, reset the main, and conversely turn on the individual floors.
In the same breath i`d be wary of HD employees normally, but this guy was right.

To a lesser extent apparently the co. was hard-vertically pressed and was sticking UL labels on braekers which were never testyed or which had failed tetsin.
If you have *old* (30-40 years) That is oriuginal FPE breakers, they are vehemently indeed suspect. For all that the newer Challenger relpacemetns should be no prolbem.
Start a rainy day fund to swap out the old panel..Otherwise .

you can get replacement fed pac breakers made by other companies..as everyone has has stated already...they are quite popular in my area and I pay about $18 a piece for them