Popcorn makers aim to cut chemical OMAHA, Neb. — Four of the nation’s biggest microwave popcorn makers are working to remove a flavoring chemical from their products linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers while reassuring consumers about the safety of the snack. Several of the companies discussed their plans Wednesday, a day after a leading lung research hospital warned that consumers also could be in danger from the buttery flavoring diacetyl. The three companies that sell Orville Redenbacher, Act II, Pop Secret and Jolly Time microwave popcorn said they planned to change the recipes for their butter-flavored microwave popcorn to remove diacetyl. The chemical diacetyl has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease often called popcorn lung. ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills Inc. and the American Pop Corn Company all promised to make the change because of safety concerns. Together, those companies accounted for more than 80 percent of the market for microwave popcorn over the past 12 months, according to the research firm Information Resources Inc. Last week, another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, said the change is significant for workers who handle diacetyl and welcome for consumers even though the butter flavor may not present a significant risk for them.
At low levels in alcoholic beverages, it contributes a slipperiness to the feel of the beer or wine in the mouth. As levels increase, it imparts a buttery or butterscotch flavor.
It is produced during fermentation as a byproduct of valine synthesis. During this synthesis yeast produces α-acetolactate, which escapes the cell and is spontaneously decarboxylated into diacetyl. The yeast then adsorbs the diacetyl, and reduces the ketone groups to form acetoin and 2,3-butanediol, relatively flavorless compounds.
Beer sometimes undergoes a diacetyl rest, which entails elevating temperature slightly for two or three days after fermentation is complete, to allow the yeast to absorb the diacetyl it produced earlier in the fermentation cycle. The makers of some wines, such as chardonnay, deliberately promote the production of diacetyl because of the feel and flavors it imparts. It is present in many California chardonnays known as "Butter Bombs," although there is a growing trend back toward the more traditional French styles.[citation needed]
Concentrations from 0.005 mg/L to 1.7 mg/L were measured in chardonnay wines, and the amount needed for the flavor to be noticed is at least 0.2 mg/l.[2][3]
You can drink it but dont breath it.....I wonder if that is the reason for making the alcohol inhaler illegal.......
And we want universal health care......HA.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
But I thought these things were suppose to be checked out before they were safe for human consumption. God, we've been microwaving popcorn forever it seems.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
There's no way to tell what the long term effects are going to be on humans short of testing a product for 20 years. They found out the same thing with asbestos, carbon tetrachloride, agent orange, dursban and many many more products now banned from our country.
So true Shadow. So many people get sick and/or die due to environmental causes that were thought to be safe at one time.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Popcorn flavoring chemical removed BY JOSH FUNK The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — The nation’s four biggest makers of microwave popcorn have removed a flavoring chemical that has been linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers from nearly all their products. The companies say all their microwave popcorn recipes should be changed by January. But it might take several months for the reformulated popcorn to replace all the older varieties on store shelves. In August, the Weaver Popcorn Company of Indianapolis announced it had removed the butter flavor diacetyl from all its microwave popcorn varieties. ConAgra Foods Inc., of Omaha, General Mills Inc., of Golden Valley, Minn., and the American Pop Corn Co., of Sioux City, Iowa, all promised in September to change their microwave popcorn recipes. Those three companies sell Orville Redenbacher, Act II, Pop Secret and Jolly Time microwave popcorn. “We want to assure our consumers they can continue to enjoy their favorite popcorn with complete confidence,” said ConAgra’s Stan Jacot, who oversees popcorn marketing for the company. The chemical diacetyl has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease often called popcorn lung. Diacetyl occurs naturally in foods such as butter, cheese and fruits, and the FDA has approved its use as a flavor ingredient. Federal agencies and lawmakers have taken note of the problems with diacetyl. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stepped up its inspections of microwave popcorn plants that use the flavoring and a program to minimize or eliminate the workers’ exposure to chemical hazards. Earlier this fall, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would limit worker exposure to diacetyl in plants that use the chemical. The Senate has not yet considered the bill. Earlier this year, a pulmonary specialist at Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center wrote to federal agencies to say doctors at the center believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years. But generally popcorn lung has been associated with people who worked in microwave popcorn plants mixing large vats of fl avors. Hundreds of workers have said they have severe lung disease or other respiratory illnesses from inhaling diacetyl vapors. More than 500 lawsuits are pending against the companies that produce or use the butter flavoring. About $50 million has been awarded in verdicts that were later settled for confidential amounts. Another 100 cases have been settled that reportedly involve tens of millions of dollars. The Washington, D.C.-based Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association has said consumers shouldn’t worry about eating microwave popcorn as long as they follow directions, which typically include a warning to open bags of popcorn away from the face. The concern instead focuses on workers inhaling it in manufacturing settings — either in making the flavoring or adding it to food products ranging from popcorn to pound cakes.
I think minivan builders should make heated roofs at no extra cost to the buyer....there by satisfying the insurance companies that the car companies are invested into anyhow.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
New safety rules planned by feds WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Tuesday that the government would soon propose new safety rules to protect workers from industrial dust that can cause explosions and a popcorn flavoring chemical linked to lung disease. The announcement is part of her efforts to boost safety enforcement at the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Solis made her remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony dedicating a national memorial in Silver Spring, Md., to workers who have died on the job. One proposal would seek to limit worker exposure to diacetyl, a fl avoring agent in microwave popcorn that is blamed for sickening hundreds of popcorn plant workers. Solis also said OSHA plans to propose new standards on combustible dust particles that can cause explosions at some work sites. Investigators blamed sugar dust at a Georgia refinery for a massive explosion last year that killed 14 people. Labor Department officials declined to provide further details on the new rules, which are expected to be proposed later this year. Solis said she will convene a special panel next month that would allow small businesses to suggest how any new rules could minimize the economic burden on their operations.
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